Volunteer Lawyers for Justice

VLJ was founded in 2001 by a group of attorneys in New Jersey concerned about the limited availability of free legal resources to the poor. VLJ is a comprehensive pro bono program meeting the needs of the poor solely through the efforts of volunteer attorneys throughout New Jersey. To date, VLJ volunteers have assisted thousands of indigent persons in the community with critical legal matters such as divorce, domestic violence, special education issues, bankruptcy, evictions and more.

Counties Served:
Essex

Case Types:
Bankruptcy, Consumer, Custody, Dissolution of Marriage, Domestic Violence, Education, Housing, Juvenile, Torts

Case Restrictions:
Applicants must reside in Essex county or have a matter being heard in Essex. We will only consider accepting fee-generating cases for referral if there are no private attorneys willing to accept the case. Two of three attorneys whose names have been provided to the client by either Lawyer Referral or Reduced Fee Panel must have rejected the case. Contingency fee cases are not accepted for referral by the program. There must be sufficient time implicated in the eligible client's situation to permit referral out to a private attorney. Seriousness of the problem and consequences to applicant if assistance is denied; availability of pro bono counsel for the particular legal problem for which assistance is sought; and amount of program resources required to provide assistance in relation to total resources available.