New Jersey Law Journal
David Gialanella
January 5, 2011
Volunteer lawyers in Newark have embarked on a novel program to advise low-income, pro se litigants on a pro bono basis.
The Newark Legal Advice and Resource Clinic for Consumers, which began on Nov. 16, is holding thrice-monthly clinics at the Essex County court house, providing limited-scope representation in debt-collection and related matters.
The program is staffed by Volunteer Lawyers for Justice volunteers along with pro bono counsel from McCarter & English, Prudential Financial Inc. and AT&T Corp. Lawyers from Merck & Co. Inc. and Patton Boggs in Washington, D.C., are in training to participate.
The volunteers advise debtors in matters such as wage garnishments, frozen bank accounts, improper service, credit report discrepancies and amounts owed in dispute. The lawyers also assist in the drafting of answers to complaints and provide courtroom tips, such as how to respond to plaintiffs and advance arguments, but they do not accompany the debtors to court.
Emily Goldberg, pro bono director at McCarter, says the clinic is the first in New Jersey to provide legal help to pro se debtors in consumer-related matters.
She says advice-only clinics are “cutting edge” in the pro-bono world, a model in use large markets such as New York, but one rapidly catching on elsewhere because of advantages it offers over traditional pro bono representation.
“It just allows you to reach far more people who need legal assistance,” Goldberg says, adding that the traditional pro bono model “simply isn’t sufficient to reach the large number of low-income people who end up pro se.”
Goldberg says the depressed economy and “abusive practices by less-than-honest debt holders” have created an increased need for free legal counsel.
The clinic has advised 35 people so far. The sessions are scheduled for three Tuesdays each month, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Essex County Hall of Records, allowing attorneys easy access to litigants’ court files, necessary. The Essex vicinage volunteered the space.
The clinic originally was envisioned as a monthly event, but demand proved high from the outset, says Karen Sacks, VLJ’s founding executive director. VLJ hopes to make the clinics an every-week event and begin scheduling some sessions during nonbusiness hours, allowing access for those who work daytime hours, Sacks says.
The volunteer attorneys give the debtors an initial plan of action to take to court and invite them return for advice on the subsequent step, Sacks says. For that reason, VLJ is trying to develop a consistent pool of volunteers who can develop at least some degree of familiarity with litigants, she says.
“It’s nice to be able to track them and assist them through the entire process,” Sacks says.
Clinic visits are by appointment, but walk-ins might be allowed in the future if practicable, Sacks says.
The program began to take shape in early 2010, when Stefan Pryor, Newark’s deputy mayor for economic and housing development, approached VLJ about the exploding need for legal counsel among low-income city residents, Sacks says.
She and others closely studied New York’s Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office, which operates a clinic for consumer-related matters in each of the five boroughs, and modeled New Jersey’s clinic after them.
Early in the process, VLJ pitched the idea to McCarter and Prudential, she says.
One attorney each from McCarter and Prudential attend one clinic session per month and work in tandem. In July, VLJ held training for participating attorneys, including 15 from McCarter.
Aside from McCarter and Prudential, two attorneys from AT&T also are volunteering, while lawyers from Merck and Patton Boggs are in training, Sacks says.
McCarter gives associates billable-hours credit for time spent at the VLJ clinics, as it does for more traditional pro bono work.
Eric Schwimmer, Prudential’s corporate counsel, could not be reached for comment but said in a statement that the company feels it is important to help consumers hurt by the economic crisis navigate through the legal system.
VLJ provides a wide range of legal services to economically disadvantaged adults, children and families. Its programs include free legal counsel and advice, educational seminars and direct representation. Established in 2001, it has six staff attorneys and more than 1,500 volunteer attorneys.