Crippling Cutbacks and Retrenchment
2008
IOLTA revenues suddenly begin to plummet, a consequence of declining interest rates, the collapsing housing market, and the Great Recession. The magnitude of the funding exceeds any that Legal Services has experienced before. Most programs defer staff cutbacks for the time being, but a profound dread sets in over Legal Services, mirroring the severely-increased hardships faced by its clients.
2009
Massive IOLTA revenue drops continue. IOLTA, at $40 million annually for Legal Services at the end of 2007, now heads toward just $5 million annually, a catastrophic reduction. Crippling staff layoffs begin, eliminating an entire generation of trained and experienced Legal Services staff.
LSNJ initiates its first Family Reunification Day, which becomes an annual celebration honoring families, caseworkers, lawyers, and others who have enabled biological families to get back together.
Legal Services releases the “Open Report on Human Consequences of Funding Crisis for Civil Legal Services,” bearing witness to the damage wrought by the funding cuts for people living in poverty.
LSNJ begins intensive advocacy for a new filing fee bill to provide additional revenue for Legal Services.
At the urging of LSNJ, at year’s end the legislature and Governor Corzine approve an emergency supplemental appropriation for Legal Services of just under $10 million, to partially replace lost IOLTA revenue.
LSNJ opens a YouTube channel to better disseminate self-help legal videos. In the fall, LSNJ publishes its latest social science study of unmet needs for civil assistance, “Unequal Access To Justice—The Continuing Civil Justice Gap For Lower Income New Jerseyans,” which is the most extensive such state-level analysis in the country.
2010
LSNJ, through its Poverty Research Institute, continues to publish its many poverty reports, including its annual Poverty Benchmarks, its Real Cost Living series, and special reports on inequality and other topics. Two unprecedented state reports are “I Want to Make It on My Own,” a qualitative assessment of New Jersey’s welfare and workforce development programs, and “Food, Clothing, Health, or a Home? The Terrible Choices and Deprivations of New Jerseyans Who Live in Poverty.”
LSNJ announces a new Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI) at the LSNJ annual conference.
2011
Legal Services of New Jersey releases the “Realizing Justice” video as New Jersey Legal Services commemorates its 45th anniversary in New Brunswick.
A line item veto from Governor Christie cuts another $5 million from Legal Services’ annual state appropriation, dropping it to $15 million, and new statewide staff layoffs ensue.
2012
The last of the major staff layoffs occur.
Hurricane Sandy strikes in October. LSNJ receives a major grant from the Robin Hood Foundation to support free legal help to Hurricane Sandy victims. This is later supplemented by additional foundation and government grants, and LSNJ initiates its Sandy Disaster Assistance Project.
LSNJ launches a new statewide website, probononj.org, to recruit and support pro bono attorneys collaborating with Legal Services and other legal assistance providers.
Paul Mullin, Executive Director of Central Jersey Legal Services (CJLS), retires. Janice Chapin succeeds him as Executive Director of CJLS.
2013
Work on the Legal Services filing fee legislation continues, but in May, the administration suddenly ties it to a new bail reform proposal, once again delaying passage.