Affordable Burlington County Lawyers Available Amid Pandemic

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Burlington County residents who can’t afford legal representation will now be able to get help at an affordable rate through the Burlington County Bar Association, President Reema Y. Scaramella announced.

The Reduced Fee Referral Program will also help litigants who do not qualify for legal aid or a public defender. Participating lawyers will offer representation in municipal court and every division of the superior court.

Among the areas covered will be bankruptcy, matrimonial, domestic violence, landlord-tenant disputes, simple wills and criminal and municipal court proceedings.

“This program is critical to providing access to the courts and, ultimately, to justice,” said Scaramella, who was installed as the bar association’s president last June. “Without it, many of our residents would be required to fend for themselves. I cannot imagine anything more daunting than that.”

The program was created as residents lose their jobs or take a financial hit amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“People are hurting right now, and our association wants to do its part,” Scaramella said.
“Now more than ever, litigants need help in bringing their matters before the court,” Burlington County Assignment Judge Jeanne T. Covert said. “The Burlington County judiciary fully supports and applauds the efforts of the Burlington County Bar Association to make this happen.”

The bar association studied the reduced-fee program for more than a year before formally approving it in the spring. Scaramella was part of a working group that also included former bar president Kevin Walker and longtime county practitioners Berge Tumaian, Christopher L. Baxter and Nicholas J. Sansone.

The group analyzed a similar program instituted by the Morris County Bar Association three years ago.

“Fortunately, we had the benefit of Morris County’s experience,” Scaramella said. “The bar leadership there was great. Jennifer Vuotto and John Paul Velez met with us at least three times, and they were always available to consult. It was nice for us to be able to piggyback on our sister county’s success.”

Applications for the reduced-fee program will be distributed through the county’s municipal courts and case management offices in the Burlington County Court Facility on Rancocas Road in Mt. Holly.

Applications are also available by calling the bar association’s headquarters at 609-261-4542. Once an application is completed, it must be submitted to the Burlington County Bar Association for review. Litigants will be deemed eligible if their family incomes are at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level.

For example, a Burlington County family of five making $75,425 or less would qualify. Litigants are then referred to attorneys who specialize in the areas where the representation is sought. Some 25 attorneys — all active members of the Burlington County Bar Association — have volunteered for the reduced-fee program.

“We continue to see a justice gap in this country,” Scaramella said. “Our association is going to do everything it can to close it.”