The New Jersey State Bar Foundation’s inaugural summer associate program capped off a successful season, helping law students develop advocacy and other legal skills while serving the public in the nonprofit community.
With financial help from the Foundation, eight nonprofits across New Jersey hired associates for summer 2024 to work on a range of public interest projects, such as housing and tenancy issues and know-your-rights efforts.
Associates and community nonprofits reported strong positive feedback about the opportunities the program provided. Lena Wanio, who worked at Community Health Law Project, helped handle cases involving housing and benefits for people with disabilities. She learned how to evaluate eviction complaints, negotiate and reach settlement agreements and conduct research.
“Meeting clients with our attorneys made me feel confident in developing lawyer skills and encourages my future endeavors,” said Wanio.
Iman Dar spent the summer at Disability Rights NJ working with clients on a range of topics, along with helping the agency review its manual to identify language that needed an update.
“The best part of the experience was the multiple uses of law I was exposed to. Within my time here, I got to use my legal skills to apply to policy, litigation and advocacy. I also really enjoyed the people I got to work with. The content I was working on was also a really interesting intersection between criminal, youth advocacy, education, and disability,” said Dar.
Michael Brower, an attorney who supervised Dar at Disability Rights NJ, said the opportunity to hire an intern provided much-needed help to the organization.
“As a nonprofit with a tight budget, Disability Rights NJ would not have been able to bring Iman on board for the summer without NSBF Summer Associate funding. ... Working with Iman gave the organization access to an eager, driven, and skilled law student available to complete meaningful assignments,” he said.
The nonprofit organizations that received funding for summer associates were:
• American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey
• Community Health Law Project
• Covenant House New Jersey
• Disability Rights New Jersey
• Jewish Family Service of MetroWest New Jersey
• Make the Road New Jersey
• SPAN Parent Advocacy Network
• Volunteer Lawyers for Justice
Visit njsbf.org to learn more about the Foundation’s grant programs.