Photo provided by Lamar.
How We Do Justice Matters - Paying Justice Forward (Lamar)
For many Volunteer Lawyers for Justice clients, their case represents a pivotal moment in their story, a new fork in the road leading to a better tomorrow, and for Lamar, his experience with VLJ was far more than a fork in the road, it was a circle, seeing a client come back years later to volunteer as an attorney. In his words:
“Originally from Jamaica, I moved to the United States when I was younger, completing high school and college in Newark. My experience with VLJ has come full circle, in the beginning as a community member in need of legal help to now, a first-generation lawyer giving back.
I had been struggling a lot since 2014, going in and out of homelessness. As is often the case with life, I was dealing with many issues at once: facing an eviction, identity theft, and a lawsuit trying to collect on a debt that wasn’t mine. I was at the bottom and was really in desperate times. While I don’t recall how I found VLJ in 2015, I’m glad I did. On three separate occasions, VLJ staff and volunteers helped me. The first involved my eviction. Unfortunately, not a lot could be done because of limitations in the law, but even having advice was beneficial because it was not something I knew.
I came back to VLJ a second time for an alleged debt of $64,000. I met with a volunteer attorney at the courthouse; even before the office opened the volunteer sat with me and reviewed the complaint. To think, my name wasn’t even on the complaint, but as a layperson, I didn’t know what information I should be looking for. While speaking with the volunteer, he asked me if the name on the complaint was mine (it wasn’t). The volunteer attorney wrote down notes for me about the statute of limitations and other important things I should know. It took him about ten minutes to write everything up, and using the legal advice I received, my case was dismissed. That volunteer attorney helped me tremendously, and having that lawsuit taken care of improved my life. In fact, that attorney sparked inspiration that I too could have a future in the law.
The third case I had with VLJ involved a similar debt issue, although this one was harder to deal with: I was representing myself and not having any luck with my pleadings or the judge, so volunteer attorneys from Prudential worked with me. After the trial court ruled against me, I appealed the matter, and thanks to the Prudential volunteers, the appeal was granted. As someone with no experience with the legal system, I did the best I could. Fortunately, for as aggressive as the company pursuing the lawsuit against me was, VLJ and I were just as aggressive back.
After working with VLJ, my life changed thanks to taking advantage of the resources available to me. I was eventually able to secure permanent housing, and that made everything stable. I was able to sit down and figure out life while living under a stable roof. Law school was always on my radar, but I didn’t have any motivation. I didn’t know anything about the law. I didn’t know any lawyers. By having the interactions with VLJ’s volunteer lawyers, that showed me what lawyers do: help people.
Fast forward to March 2020, I was a substitute teacher when COVID hit. Not being permanently on staff, I was told to go home and eventually was let go. With strict social distancing in place, I had a lot of time to think at home. ‘Well what do I do now?’, I asked myself. I remembered the last VLJ volunteer attorney told me that I should be a lawyer because of how determined I was how and how well I researched things. That struck a chord, so I started applying to law school. While I applied late to law school, I was accepted to a school in Boston. COVID was still very much a thing when I started law school, so I took my classes virtually; going to law school is difficult to begin with and now you want me to do my critical first-year virtually?! But, I did it! When classes returned to in person, I would travel to law school in Boston for three days a week. I still had to earn a living, so I had to juggle between clinics/internships and working.
While in law school, I interned with the Volunteer Lawyers Project in Boston because I could be a ‘3:03 student attorney’ (eligible students in their next to last year of law school can appear in civil proceedings), and as it turns out, I was able to help a few clients with legal issues similar to mine. In fact, I helped several people with debt issues. After graduating from law school, I studied for and passed the New Jersey and New York bar exams (admitted in October 2024). I recently secured a position as an assistant prosecutor in New Jersey. For the New York bar, I have to complete 50 hours of pro bono, so I remembered my experience with VLJ and, hoping to use both my personal and professional experience, I asked to volunteer. I was especially drawn to VLJ’s eviction defense work because in law school I took a landlord-tenant class (and also because I’ve read all the housing law pertaining to evictions I could find . . . you might say I’m a tad passionate about the subject). Not only am I working on a research assignment for VLJ, I completed my first Tenancy Advisory Clinic on February 12; I also recently volunteered on a divorce matter for a veteran.
As a product of Newark and a previous substitute teacher, I have a lot of empathy for people doing their best while facing compounding issues. I’m from here and I know more than most what people go through and how hard it is to find resources (it’s even more difficult finding a lawyer to help). Now, as someone passionate about public service, I’m looking forward to paying justice forward.”
Because how we do justice matters.