News & Updates
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is pleased to announce it has welcomed five new members to its Board of Trustees.
Mala Harker is a Partner at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman where she is a member of the firm's Management Committee. She represents individuals and corporations in the financial services, pharmaceutical, and other industries in connection with white collar, securities, employment, and complex commercial litigation matters.
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ), a nonprofit law firm helping underserved individuals and families across New Jersey, is excited to announce changes to New Jersey State Law that will positively impact the reentry community, particularly indigent and vulnerable people with New Jersey criminal records.
June 3, 2020
Dear VLJ Friends:
All of us are reeling from the callous and senseless murder of George Floyd last week. As another name is added to the long and growing list of Black people killed by police brutality in this country, VLJ echoes the call for an end to the recurring violence against African Americans and other communities of color. Black lives matter.
Separately, we must also examine the policies and systems that have marginalized African Americans and other people of color in our country. Much of this institutional racism is the legacy of slavery and legally-sanctioned segregation in America. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of the clients VLJ serves are people of color. This is not a coincidence, as hundreds of years of racial inequality has led to and kept communities of color in poverty. All of VLJ’s clients are poor, and that poverty brings with it housing instability, financial insecurity, educational inequality, unemployment, and a perpetual state of crisis.
We must insist that all police protect all of our fellow citizens and that police brutality not be tolerated in any community. Certainly, police must stop killing unarmed Black men and women, particularly in the course of responding to traffic and other minor offenses. We must demand more of our political leaders, so they effectuate policies that address the long-term systemic racism plaguing our nation. It is time for all of us to stand together and fight for justice.
While VLJ’s advocates and volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that our clients’ voices are heard in the civil legal system, we can and must do more to fight against the systemic racism and inequity that leads to senseless deaths and keeps our neighbors of color in poverty. There must be a better pathway to justice. This is a problem for all of us. Today we are recommitting ourselves to lifting and listening to Black and other marginalized voices and identifying additional actions so all of us can fight for a more just world. A conversation is important, but real solutions require action in our daily thoughts and in our individual spheres of influence. Ask yourself: when you have a moment to act, will you? Racism should have no safe harbor.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Together in justice,
TAKING CASES AND CHANGING LIVES IN A TIME OF CRISIS: TRAININGS FOR PRO BONO ATTORNEYS
Are you an attorney in NJ? Join VLJ for our June 2020: Lunch & Learn CLE Series. Fee waived for attorneys who agree to take a pro bono case with VLJ. To learn more about each training and to register, click HERE.
Join VLJ at our inaugural, online spring fundraiser, Three Cheers for Justice, Wednesday, May 27th @ 7 pm! Learn more and purchase your ticket HERE.
Michael B. Jordan was at the CityPlex 12 in Newark Tuesday night for the premiere of his latest film, “Just Mercy,” and he brought the cast of the movie, teachers, students, and community organizers with him.
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is pleased to announce it has received a grant from the Investors Foundation to support the New Jersey Trafficking Victims' Legal Assistance Program (Trafficking Program).
The Trafficking Program began in 2015 to provide an array of legal services to victims of human trafficking, including the criminal record clearing of arrests and convictions that resulted from having been trafficked. Despite great strides made in addressing this crisis, survivors continue to face significant barriers as they attempt to rebuild their lives post-trafficking.
As the extreme weather season begins, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and other natural disasters threaten to bring myriad civil legal problems for New Jersey residents, from accessing critical disaster assistance to securing temporary housing to handling insurance claims. Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will be there to provide advice and assistance but residents should act now to ensure that they have accessible documents and pictures of them and everything in their home before a natural disaster arrives. A few simple actions can help to avoid legal problems later.
The event will start at 5:30 p.m. on November 14 at the Valley Regency in Clifton. Arts and Eats for Justice is a celebration of how VLJ staff, volunteers, funders, and community partners work together to transform the lives of low-income and vulnerable clients in New Jersey. Honorees are selected for their commitment to VLJ’s mission. Click to see who we’re honoring this year!
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice has received the 2018 Jefferson Award Medallion in the Volunteer Group category for outstanding work benefiting the community. The Jefferson Awards were established in 1972 as the official recognition program of the United States Senate. They are considered America’s highest honor for public service and volunteerism. “We were so honored to be nominated for this award by our Board Chair, Susan McGahan, a steadfast supporter of justice.”
VLJ contributed to a recent report on the challenges of the recovery process after Superstorm Sandy. The report, “The Long Road Home,” analyzed the results of a survey taken by over 500 Sandy survivors found that 22% of respondents were still out of their homes at the time of the survey; that 77% of respondents either did not have enough money to finish rebuilding their homes; and that more than 70% of respondents had developed new physical or mental health problems or a worsening of pre-existing health conditions since Sandy.
Volunteer Lawyer for Justice’s second annual Summer Soiree was a huge success, raising awareness and funding for VLJ’s Children’s Representation Program (CRP). Hosted by VLJ’s Generation Now Young Professionals Committee, the event was attended by almost 100 professionals at the Essex Fells Country Club on June 8, 2017 and featured an impassioned speech by exemplary volunteer Michael Malia.
VLJ is excited to announce two new legal programs this year. The Veterans Legal Wellness Clinic is the first legal services clinic to be held regularly at the East Orange VA Hospital; VLJ is proud to partner with the legal departments of BASF and Panasonic, as well as the law firms, Day Pitney LLP, Nukk-Freeman & Cerra PC, and McGuire Woods LLP on this ground-breaking new program. The Tenancy Clinic is our second new program and it is co-sponsored by Prudential and Lowenstein Sandler.
