Honoring Veterans with Pro Bono: Our Commitment on Veterans Day
November 10, 2023
Authored by: Alexandra Bravo
This article is made possible by the generous support from Taylor Tobey and Sarah Brodsky at 9Sail.
Alexandra Bravo
This Veterans Day, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) honors the more than 18 million military veterans in the United States, 350,000 of whom reside in New Jersey. Veterans are the first to give of themselves and the last to ask for help they deserve. VLJ is dedicated to serving those who served and providing them with access to civil legal services. VLJ and its partners have dedicated resources, staff, and volunteers exclusively to serve veterans and meet their unmet civil legal needs not just on a holiday like Veterans Day, but every single day.
The Importance of Honoring Our Veterans
Many veterans face increased risk of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, and mental illness. A 2023 NJ Point in Time Homeless Report found that up to 79% of veterans experiencing homelessness have a disability and many depend on public or Veterans Affairs benefits as their sources of income. Understanding the importance of providing veterans with much needed legal services, in 2014 VLJ partnered with PSEG to create the Veterans Legal Program. This program is dedicated to ensuring veterans in New Jersey have access pro bono legal services they need to retain stable housing, reenter the job market, and improve their economic status. To date, VLJ and its team of volunteers have served 1,423 veterans with 1,918 civil legal matters.
If you are a New Jersey veteran in need of civil legal help, please click here.
How Our Volunteer Attorneys Help Veterans
VLJ staff and pro bono attorneys veterans with their housing matters, child support, debt relief, and criminal record expungement, legal obstacles that disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC).
VLJ invites veterans to join bimonthly virtual clinics where they can meet with volunteer attorneys who conduct a holistic assessment (a wellness “check up” similar to the medical model) to determine what issues are holding them back and where legal relief is possible. If a legal matter or non-legal issue outside of VLJ’s services is identified, our volunteers make sure to provide meaningful referrals. VLJ also provides ongoing assistance in areas of high-needs amongst veterans including driver’s license restoration, criminal record expungement, child support modification, eviction defense, estate planning, and debt relief.
Our volunteers come from firms and corporations of all sizes, including PSEG, Gibbons, McCarter and English, BASF, Bressler Amery & Ross, Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, McGuire Woods, Panasonic, Prudential, and Reed Smith, Lowenstein, Verizon, DLA Piper, and more. No matter the firm size or number of attorneys, there is a pro bono opportunity right for you at VLJ.
VLJ’s Commitment to Helping Veterans
VLJ also works with community partners to ensure those who served our country have access to quality, holistic pro bono legal services. Joining VLJ in our work for veterans are Catholic Charities and Community Hope. VLJ regularly trains social workers and service providers at Catholic Charities, ensuring they are up-to-date on VLJ’s referral procedures, legal issue spotting, recurring legal issues, etc.
Mindful of having boots on the ground in the communities we serve, VLJ continues to conduct in-person and virtual outreach at community-based events, circulating VLJ flyers, and presenting for community partners.
Are You an Attorney Who Wants to Help Veterans?
Do you have a background in bankruptcy, family law, or estate planning? Are you a municipal court practitioner with experience on traffic matters? If yes, VLJ provides volunteers with multiple opportunities ranging from limited-scope legal clinics to full representation where you can use your legal skill set to help our veterans in obtaining justice and stability. Do you enjoy mentoring and supporting other attorneys with their professional development? We use experienced mentors to help volunteers as they help our veteran clients.
Are you interested in learning a new area of law? VLJ also provides trainings and mentorship for volunteers new to a legal practice area. Are you an associate or in-house attorney looking for litigation experience? VLJ has several pro bono opportunities that will get you in court.
Sign up to volunteer at https://www.vljnj.org/become-a-pro-bono-volunteer
