Karen Sacks Selected by NJ Law Journal to Top Women Lawyers of 2016

Karen Sacks Named to Law Journal’s Top Women in the Law

The New Jersey Law Journal has selected Karen Sacks, the founding executive director of Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) and a Montclair resident, for its 2016 Top Women in the Law.

The list, released on Sept. 14, highlights 25 women in the private, public and public interest sectors.

The newspaper said its project was an “attempt to shine a light on the outstanding work being done by female attorneys across New Jersey.”

Sacks oversees the work of VLJ, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year of providing pro bono legal advice to low-income people. Her photo is below. VLJ advises on issues including bankruptcy, consumer matters, eviction, child support, reentry after military service, Superstorm Sandy recovery and reentry after prison.

In 2015, VLJ volunteers donated more than $2 million in free legal services.

Sacks’ interest in public interest law began in law school when she interned at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York; volunteered for the Unemployment Action Center, helping the unemployed receive benefits; and served as an editor on the Review of Law and Social Change.

While in private practice, she was engaged in various pro bono efforts. Ten years later, after witnessing funding cuts to pro bono legal programs, she moved full time into public interest work. Sacks secured a small grant to create a pro bono program in New Jersey, and VLJ was born.