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Pro bono focus of October New Jersey Lawyer

By Cheryl Baisden posted 10-03-2017 12:29 PM

  
With so many natural disasters and such uncertainty in the world today, there is no better time than now for lawyers to consider pro bono service. The October issue of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s bi-monthly magazine provides practitioners with everything they need to pursue pro bono work, whether simply to meet the requirements to get a Madden exemption or to delve deeper into public service.

Pro bono outreach takes many forms, and the articles in this edition offer a comprehensive review of pro bono opportunities, including representation of children with special needs, immigration matters, how to help veterans, landlord-tenant cases, reentry matters, transactional pro bono, domestic violence cases, and representation of human trafficking victims,” said Mary Frances Palisano, who served as special editor for the issue. “This edition also offers ways attorneys can get involved in pro bono outreach, the types of programs available, and the importance and benefits of pro bono work.”

To kick-off the issue, Joseph Murray provides a personal perspective on pro bono outreach and community. 

“After surviving the ordeal of taking the bar, came the author’s first and only job as an attorney, working at Hudson County Legal Services, now Northeast New Jersey Legal Services,” Murray wrote. “Truth be told, it was clear it was time to repay life’s good fortune when the realization hit that the author’s immigrant parents, who raised eight children, had been in the same boat as some of these clients, namely struggling financially. In effect, the sense of community had come full circle.”

The opening piece is followed by these contributions:

     • Dawn Miller offers an article focusing on where and how to find pro bono opportunities. 
     • Michelle T. Nuciglio outlines types of pro bono projects seeking volunteers and the impact pro bono work has on the lives of low-income people.
     • Jeffrey S. Mandel shares his experience in areas of appellate and mediation pro bono
     • Palisano, Debra A. Clifford, Kaitlyn E. Stone and Charlotte E. Howells look at ways to leverage pro bono outreach at all stages of legal practice. 
     • Diane K. Smith explains the need for attorneys to volunteer for pro bono projects and the critical difference it makes in closing the justice gap for indigent individuals.
     • Jill Friedman, Erika Kerber, Mark Miller, Stacy Noonan, Mary Orsini and Susan Saidel provide guidance concerning legal challenges and resources for children with special needs. 
     • Jeffrey DeCristofaro focuses on fraud in immigration cases that can devastate the path to citizenship. 
     • Jessica Limbacher and Kaleia Edmundo explain the need for representation of veterans and offer examples of New Jersey pro bono programs designed to assist veterans. 
     • Natalie J. Kraner and Catherine Weiss review how low-income tenants fall prey to abuse in eviction proceedings when unrepresented, and how representation increases the likelihood of success. 
     • William Lim and John G. Koufos focus their article on license restoration for reentry clients. 
     • Michele C. Lefkowitz addresses how pro bono attorneys can help victims of domestic violence in final restraining order hearings. 
     • Jessica Kitson focuses on how pro bono attorneys can help victims clear their criminal records so they can rebuild their lives. 
     • Carrey Wong, Michelle Movahed and Nick Insua discuss how pro bono work assists refugee children and their path toward lawful immigration status. 
     • Victor A. Afanador and Jason S. Kanterman describe how ReNew, a federal re-entry program, can assist those reentering society after serving prison time. 
     • Nancy Eberhardt discusses the need for and importance of transactional pro bono work.

Get October New Jersey Lawyer here.
 
The December issue of New Jersey Lawyer will focus on the topic of construction law.

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