The Pro Bono Program is informed and guided by American Bar Association Model Rule 6.1, which says that "(e)very lawyer has a professional repsonsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay" and directs lawyers to provide pro bono services to "(1) persons of limited means; or (2) charitable, religious, civil, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters which are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means."

Camden Projects

 

  • The Alternate Spring Break Project enables students to hone their legal skills in underserved locations during this traditional vacation week in the academic calendar.  ASB volunteers have traveled to New Orleans, Nashville, and other locations.   
  • COVID-19 Projects include tenant and prisoner advocacy, and community education for small business owners.
  • The Domestic Violence Project trains and places students in the Domestic Violence Unit of the Camden County Family Court, where they help survivors of domestic violence complete complaints and obtain temporary restraining orders.  Students also provide community education and develop materials for survivors.
  • The Honorable Judith H. Wizmur Bankruptcy Pro Bono Project pairs students with volunteer attorneys, many of whom are Rutgers alumni, to interview low-income clients and to prepare and file bankruptcy petitions. This project is generously funded by the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation and the New Jersey Bankruptcy Lawyers Foundation.
  • Through the Mediation Project, students earn the designation of “Trained Mediator” by the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts after completing a rigorous multi-day training course and observing/apprenticing with experienced student mediators. Volunteers work with parties in the local Municipal and Superior Courts.  
  • Volunteers at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project assist with case investigation and analysis for clients asserting actual innocence.
  • Through the Planning Estates (PEP) Project, students prepare wills, powers of attorney, and living wills for elderly, Camden-area residents who have low income, under the supervision of faculty and alumni pro bono lawyers.
  • Developed and administered with Professor Sarah Ricks , the Pro Bono Research Project offers free legal research services to public interest and government lawyers, and private attorneys handling pro bono cases. Students provide pro bono service while improving their own research and writing skills.
  • The Street Law Project trains and places law students in area high schools and youth programs to teach about legal issues pertinent to their lives. 
  • The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Project (“VITA”) partners with the Campaign for Working Families, Inc. to provide e-filing for clients, which results in faster processing and faster refunds.  Many clients of the VITA project are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Care Tax Credit; annually, the Project successfully files for nearly $500,000 in returns for Camden residents.
  • The Voters Rights Project trains students to monitor voting sites during primary and general elections. On Election Day in November, our students fan out all over Camden, both monitoring and assisting the Camden County Board of Elections in its efforts to ensure compliance with all applicable law. Each year a comprehensive, detailed, well-documented report is created and delivered to the Camden County Board of Elections.

 

Newark Projects

 

  • Courtroom Advocates Program:  The Courtroom Advocates Project (CAP) trains law students to help survivors of domestic violence obtain orders of protection in Family Court. Once trained, students assist clients in drafting and filing petitions; accompany clients to court appearances; advocate for their clients before a judge; educate clients about their legal rights and remedies, and provide safety planning and referrals to community resources.  
  • Immigrant Rights Collective:  Students assist Make the Road NJ with weekly citizenship clinics and other immigration legal work.
  • Honorable Morris Stern Bankruptcy Assistance Project: The Honorable Morris Stern Bankruptcy Project recruits and trains student and attorney volunteers who provide legal representation to low-income clients in Chapter 7, no asset bankruptcy cases.  The Pro Bono Program organizes the training and hosts  community education workshops. 
  • The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) organizes law students and lawyers to develop and enforce a set of legal rights for refugees and displaced persons. Mobilizing direct legal aid, litigation, and systemic advocacy, IRAP serves the world's most persecuted individuals and empowers the next generation of human rights leaders.  
  • LGBTQ Legal Education and Outreach Project: This project, a joint initiative of Rutgers Law School’s Pro Bono Program, the NYC Bar Association, and the North Jersey Community Research Initiative, provides student and attorney volunteers with the opportunity to participate in weekly clinics where they conduct intakes for members of the LGBTQ community on poverty law and discrimination matters.  
  • Newark Housing Rights Pro Bono Project:  Through this student-founded pro bono project, Rutgers law students are working with the McCarter English law firm,  Volunteer Lawyers for Justice,  and the Ironbound Corporation to provide law-related education to communities about their right to counsel. In addition, the group is currently engaged in statewide court observing and various law reform efforts. 
  • Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) partners with Rutgers Law students on a variety of pro se legal clinics,  in  downtown Newark, Elizabeth, and East Orange. This project provides the opportunity to practice client interviewing skills, work with experienced attorneys from NJ law firms and corporations, and complete work in areas including divorce, criminal record expungement, consumer debt defense, bankruptcy, and veterans’ issues.  

 

Archived Projects

 

  • The Financial Literacy Project (FLiP) provides information on  credit, credit scoring, building and maintaining credit, saving, budgeting and identity protection. 
    Through the Hurricane Sandy Project students assisted Legal Services of New Jersey lawyers with Sandy-related legal issues.   A three-way partnership among the Pro Bono Program, the Law School’s student public interest group, and LSNJ, the Sandy Legal Relief Project assisted low-income New Jersey residents with Hurricane Sandy-related problems, including landlord-tenant, consumer and insurance issues, among others.
    The Youth Court Project, an outgrowth of Street Law, guides Camden school children in restorative justice practices 
  • Through the Hurricane Sandy Project students assisted Legal Services of New Jersey lawyers with Sandy-related legal issues.   A three-way partnership among the Pro Bono Program, the Law School’s student public interest group, and LSNJ, the Sandy Legal Relief Project assisted low-income New Jersey residents with Hurricane Sandy-related problems, including landlord-tenant, consumer and insurance issues, among others.
  • The Youth Court Project, an outgrowth of Street Law, guides Camden school children in restorative justice practices