Essex County Legal Aid Association’s (ECLAA) free legal services are available to qualified low-income residents of Essex County who need such emergency help and may have even arrived in court unaware of legal support services available to them. ECLAA provides assistance in civil cases, including housing law (most often, tenants facing eviction), consumer law, family law, etc.
Legal Assistance
Included in this list are organizations that provide free or low-cost legal services to victims of abuse and others who qualify. Even if the organization does not have a lawyer available to represent you in court, you may want to ask if there is a lawyer who you can consult with to get advice. Please note that we list the organizations by the town/city or county where the office is located – however, many offices may likely serve multiple counties. We indicate the “counties served” whenever possible. You can click “View All” to look through the complete list of organizations.
Essex
Essex County Legal Aid Association
Essex Newark Legal Services
Essex Newark Legal Services (ENLS) provides civil representation and advocacy to low-income individuals in Essex County in housing, domestic violence, public benefits, and consumer cases. ENLS also has specific projects for domestic violence cases, assistance for veterans, referrals for the homeless, and criminal record expungement. They are open from 8am to 5pm EST, Monday through Friday.
Partners for Women and Justice
Provides free legal representation and/or legal advice for low income victims throughout New Jersey. Their services include: mPower HelpLine and Pro Se Assistance: provides legal advice and counsel for women over the phone in matters of child support, visitation, custody, divorce and domestic violence; mPower Legal Clinics: provides legal advice and counsel for divorce and post-divorce matters, allowing women to meet one-on-one with knowledgeable, volunteer attorneys to have questions answered, court papers reviewed and obtain procedural guidance; Pro Bono Legal Representation: provides women with quality legal representation in final restraining order hearings (and other family law matters); mPower Planning: preparation of wills, powers of attorney, health care proxies and directives for clients who have received other legal services from us; mPower Your Life: A Financial Skills Workshop for Women. From time to time we offer a series on financial literacy. Serves women primarily in northern New Jersey, and in particular Essex, Union and Morris Counties.
Seton Hall University - Center for Social Justice
Provides free legal services to individuals needing representation in a wide variety of family law matters. Considers the following types of cases: contested and uncontested divorces; establishment, modification and enforcement of child and spousal support; custody and visitation cases; international child abduction cases; adoptions; and litigation on behalf of victims of domestic violence. The clinic is only available when the law school is in session.