With economic forces both putting legal assistance out of reach for many middle-income state residents and reducing job prospects for new lawyers, the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) recognized an opportunity to address the two challenges as part of the same growing justice gap.
 
The recently-appointed NJSBA Blue Ribbon Commission on Unmet Legal Needs is charged with seeking innovative ways to match those who need affordable legal help with lawyers who need clients and provide them the support and guidance to ensure that assistance is properly administered.
 
Alumni, faculty and administrators of the two Rutgers University law schools are well-represented among the retired jurists, attorneys, advocates, and legal academics from every geographical area of the state who comprise the commission.
 
Commission members from the Rutgers community range from the most experienced – retired Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long, Rutgers School of Law–Newark Class of 1966, who together with former Supreme Court Justice Helen E. Hoens co-chairs the commission – to aspiring attorney Amanda O’Keefe, Rutgers School of Law–Camden Class of 2016.
 
Commission members will study six areas to identify innovations and ideas that could be applied in New Jersey to address the issue. The areas of study are initiatives at law schools, law firms, bar associations, in the judiciary, among non-profits, and proposals that are new and unique.
 
Andrew Rothman, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Managing Attorney for the Rutgers Law Associates Fellowship Program at Rutgers Law–Newark, is chair of the subcommittee exploring possible solutions through law school initiatives. The fellowship program, the first of its kind in the country, is designed to train recent law school graduates as practitioners, while providing various legal services to low to moderate-income New Jersey residents at fees substantially below market rates. 
 
Also serving on the subcommittee are Rutgers Law–Newark Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor Paul Tractenberg and Rutgers Law–Camden Adjunct Professor Jill Friedman, Associate Dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest at the two Rutgers law schools. “We are delighted the NJSBA has undertaken the important work of narrowing the justice gap,” said Friedman. “Increasing pro bono options for our most vulnerable poor who are trying to vindicate their basic needs is a perennial critical priority. But finding solutions for middle-income people is another essential piece of the pie; we look forward to working on creative solutions that will increase the quality of justice for everyone in New Jersey.”