Our Work
Our staff attorneys specialize in the types of cases that most often affect the low-income, senior and disabled community. These include:
- Housing: evictions, illegal lockouts, utility shutoffs, rental assistance programs, public housing, foreclosures and other housing matters.
- Family: domestic violence restraining orders, child support, child custody, name changes, legal guardianship and other family law matters.
- Public Benefits: TANF, GA, SNAP (food stamps), SSI and SSDI, unemployment benefits and other public benefits matters.
- Consumer: bankruptcy, debt collection, deceptive sales practices, bank levies, expungement of criminal records, hospital and doctor bills and other consumer matters.
Special Projects
NNJLS also has the following projects to assist clients with specific legal problems:
- Senior Law Project provides legal advice and representation to senior residents, aged sixty and older, in civil law matters, including Powers of Attorney, Advance Directives, and Wills.
- Domestic Violence Representation Project provides legal advice and representation for survivors of domestic violence who seek restraining orders to protect themselves and their families from further abuse.
- Veterans Assistance Project provides low-income and homeless veterans with access to quality legal representation and advice to address civil legal issues that impact their health, income, housing and family stability.
- Immigration Representation Project provides legal advice and representation to Lawful Permanent Residents on a number of issues, including naturalization. We also represent undocumented individuals who are eligible for assistance through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), or who are eligible for "U" or "T" visas.
- HIV/AIDS Representation Project provides legal advice and representation to individuals in Passaic and Bergen Counties who are living with HIV or AIDS. Assistance is provided in housing, public benefits, and other matters.
- Homelessness Prevention Project provides legal representation to people who find themselves homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. Services include assistance with housing, public benefits and other legal matters.
- Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Program provides legal advice and representation to individuals with federal (IRS) tax controversies.
- Employment Opportunity Project provides services for individuals seeking expungements of criminal records and to remove other barriers to employment.
- Disaster Assistance Project provides legal representation for victims of Hurricane Sandy in Housing, Insurance, Home Repair, FEMA and other legal matters arising as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
Legal Clinics: NNJLS conducts in-house clinics to provide legal information and guidance to residents so they will be able to represent themselves in several kinds of civil legal matters. Clinics are held in NNJLS' offices in each County, and many are conducted in Spanish. Topics covered in these clinics include bankruptcy, expungements, divorce, return of security deposits, and naturalization.
Cases we do not handle: Northeast New Jersey Legal Services strives to provide high-quality legal assistance to low-income, senior, disabled, immigrant and other vulnerable residents of Bergen, Hudson and Passaic Counties free of charge. However, due to limited funding resources and staff reductions, we cannot serve all those who come to us for help. We do not handle criminal cases, auto accidents and personal injury matters, business disputes, traffic tickets, workers' compensation or real estate closing matters. If we cannot provide you with legal assistance, we will refer you to local agencies where you may be able to receive the help you need.
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