Ensuring Access to Justice for People Experiencing Poverty

“Emelina”* and her daughter “Kristiana”* live in Newark’s South Ward. At age five, Kristiana was diagnosed with diabetes, yet was determined to not let that hold her back. Like many her age, Kristiana enrolled in kindergarten to begin her journey from K to 12.

Of course, to succeed in school, Kristiana would need medical support. Through advocating for Kristiana, Emelina had the school district agree to some of the medical recommendations from Kristiana’s doctor, but the school district would not comply with all the recommendations. After seeking assistance from VLJ’s Children’s Representation Program, a volunteer attorney answered the pro bono call and agreed to help Emelina and Kristiana. After extended representation and mediation with the school district, Kristiana started kindergarten as scheduled, with an Individualized Education Program and the medical care required for her to attend school safely, including dedicated medically-trained staff.

That's the Power of Pro Bono.

*The names and photo have been changed to protect client privacy and ensure confidentiality.

Find Your Answer to "Why Pro Bono?" Here

🏌️️Swing into Action and Join VLJ at The Long Drive for Justice!⛳

On Tuesday, May 14 at Watchung Valley Golf Club, tee off for justice with thrilling on-the-green competitions like Long Drive, Hole-in-One, Beat the Pro, and more!

Sign up as a solo golfer or form a fierce foursome with your pals to enjoy a discounted rate. Looking to elevate your brand while supporting access to justice? Explore our various sponsorship opportunities—from pin flags to tee signs, get your brand seen by our golfers! Then afterward, join VLJ to raise a glass to justice at the post-tournament cocktail reception.

Click or tap the button below to register, secure a sponsorship, and learn more.

Celebrating a VLJ Volunteer of the Month: Amara Conteh

From Washington, D.C., with love (for pro bono and ensuring access to justice).

That’s the spirit behind a VLJ Volunteer of the Month, Amara Conteh. An associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Amara’s enthusiastic embrace of volunteering her legal talent not only represents the firm’s dedicated partnership with VLJ, it demonstrates the transformative power one person can have even hundreds of miles away.

Based in Wilson Sonsini’s Washington, D.C. office, Amara’s practice encompasses a variety of antitrust matters, including civil and criminal litigation, merger reviews, and government investigations. She received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, cum laude, from American University and a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School.

Since beginning her volunteer story with VLJ in 2021, Amara has generously volunteered over 163 hours, valued at $57,085, supporting VLJ’s New Jersey Human Trafficking Survivors Legal Assistance Program. To Amara, thank you for harnessing the power of pro bono to change a life!

Read More About Amara Here

Prudential Financial Receives Pro Bono Award

VLJ is excited to announce that Prudential Financial ("Prudential") has been named the recipient of the 2024 Bernard A. Kuttner Pro Bono Service Award by the Essex County Bar Association. The award is a distinguished honor bestowed upon individuals, law firms, legal departments, and institutions within the legal profession for their outstanding contributions to providing volunteer legal services in Essex County.

VLJ nominated Prudential for the award because of how incredibly they have harnessed the power of pro bono. Prudential began volunteering with VLJ in 2010 in response to the Great Recession and accompanying debt crisis. They quickly became champions in providing legal services to families facing crippling consumer debt, and fast-forward 14 years, the breadth and depth of Prudential’s pro bono efforts support not one, but five VLJ programs: Debt Relief Legal Program, Divorce Program, ReLeSe (Reentry Legal Services) Program, Tenancy Program, and Veterans Legal Program.

Remarkably in 2023, 82 Prudential employees volunteered more than 700 pro bono hours with VLJ. More importantly, they helped 167 clients and impacted 369 people when including the people living in their homes. Whether keeping families housed at home, providing fresh financial starts, or serving those who served, VLJ is fortunate to have Prudential as a longstanding partner in furthering access to justice. VLJ is excited to celebrate Prudential being recognized for their decades of lifechanging pro bono, generosity, and commitment to making Essex County a more just place to live and work.

Prudential, along with other award honorees, will be recognized at the Essex County Bar Association’s 2024 Annual Installation & Awards Reception and Golf Outing on May 6, 2024, at Mountain Ridge Country Club.

Read the Entire Press Release Here

Learn More About the ECBA's 2024 Awards Reception Here

Daniel D'Alessandro, Partner At McCarter & English, LLP, Joins VLJ’s Board Of Trustees

VLJ is pleased to announce Daniel D'Alessandro (“Dan”), Partner at McCarter & English, LLP, recently joined our board of trustees. A graduate of Lafayette College and Seton Hall University School of Law, not only does Dan bring years of experience in complex contractual, financial, and regulatory matters to the board, he brings a passion for pro bono and VLJ’s mission to ensure access to justice for people experiencing poverty.

Since Dan began volunteering with VLJ in 2014 he has generously donated 400 hours of his time. His pro bono efforts have seen him enthusiastically support VLJ’s ReLeSe Program and New Jersey Human Trafficking Survivors Legal Assistance Program, helping clients find second chances through criminal records expungement and claim their future through vacatur relief.

Read the Entire Press Release Here

Dan’s joining our board continues McCarter & English’s longstanding support of VLJ, and we look forward to his leadership on and insight into harnessing the power of pro bono.

Cathy Keenan, VLJ’s Executive Director, had this to say on Dan’s appointment to the board: “A decade of service, 368 hours generously donated, and a passion for our mission, Dan D'Alessandro is a perfect fit for our board. While he continues McCarter and English’s steadfast partnership with Volunteer Lawyers for Justice and brings an impressive resume and skillset to the board, what I most look forward to during his tenure on the board is Dan’s powerful perspective as someone who has talked the talk and walked the walk of pro bono. From criminal record expungement to vacatur relief, Dan not only knows the power of pro bono, he knows what happens when dedicated attorneys use their bar license to open doors to justice, doors for so many that have been long shut, and the transformative power that holds for our clients and the communities they call home.”

VLJ Receives Grants from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation

Further empowering our mission to ensure access to justice for people experiencing poverty, VLJ recently received two grants from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation:

Law Fellow Grant — This grant will fund a year-long fellowship. Kayla Toomer, a graduate of Seton Hall University and Seton Hall University School of Law, will join VLJ to focus on the criminalization of survivors of gender-based violence, including community education and outreach, direct representation of clients, and policy work to expand the legal relief available to survivors.

Summer Law Associate Grant — This grant will provide a paid internship to a summer law associate who will work on the frontlines of VLJ client services, including engaging in substantive legal work, conducting legal research, drafting pleadings, developing legal arguments, and working with clients.

A Defender of Justice: Adaneka Witter Judge

“Dedicate yourself to what gives your life true meaning and purpose; make a positive difference in someone's life.” — Roy T. Bennett

If ever there is someone who embodies this quote and more, it is Volunteer Lawyers for Justice’s recent Defender of Justice, Adaneka Witter Judge. Dedicated to her community, to her dreams, and to a better tomorrow, Adaneka is proof you don’t have to go very far to find the best among us.

Previously a Spring 2023 AT&T Intern at VLJ, Adaneka joined full time in June 2023 as a Law Clerk supporting VLJ’s South Ward Promise Neighborhood Program and Tenancy Program. A graduate of Montclair State University and Fairleigh Dickinson University, Adaneka is pursuing her dream of becoming an attorney, finding herself in law school class every Monday through Thursday from 6:00 PM to almost 10:00 PM. In short, Adaneka lives and breathes the law, whether it is a full day at VLJ or her evening classes at Rutgers Law (class of 2025).