Volunteer Lawyers for Justice

At Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ), our mission is to ensure access to justice for people experiencing poverty. VLJs staff and trustees drafted an ambitious mission that doesnt set out to merely provide free legal services, but to ensure access to justice. Our mission focuses on people experiencing poverty, stressing that poverty can be (and should be) transitory. We believe that legal services have the ability to effectuate profound change, including economic stability and prosperity. VLJ mobilizes volunteers to work alongside staff to address critical legal needs across New Jersey, advancing racial, social, and economic justice. At the start, VLJ aimed to address the unmet civil legal needs of individuals with no- or low-incomes in Essex County. Initially operating as a program of the Legal Services Foundation of Essex County, VLJ focused on housing, consumer, family, and education law cases, assigning them to volunteer attorneys. Despite early challenges in institutionalizin...