Essex County Bar Association Honors Rosamond, Murphy with Achievement Awards for Pro Bono Work

April 17, 2012 - PRLog -- The Essex County Bar Association (ECBA) will honor Geoffrey N. Rosamond, Esq. with the Bernard J. Kuttner Pro Bono Service Award and Delia J. Murphy, Esq. with the Family Law Attorney Award for their pro bono efforts with Volunteer Lawyers for Justice of Newark, N.J. The awards will be presented at ECBA's Annual Installation and Awards Dinner on Monday, April 30, at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, N.J.

Founded in 2001, VLJ provides comprehensive pro bono legal services to thousands of economically-disadvantaged individuals each year in New Jersey, focusing on the areas of greatest need such as family law, consumer law, bankruptcy and special education. Programs include free legal counsel and advice, educational seminars on various legal matters, and direct representation for at-risk individuals facing critical civil legal issues.

VLJ's Newark Reentry Legal Services (ReLeSe) assists Essex County residents with criminal records with civil legal issues serving as barriers to successful community reintegration. Through direct in-house representation and referrals to volunteer attorneys, ReLeSe aids its clients with driver's license restoration, resolution and expungement of criminal records.

"Geoffrey and Delia are well-deserving of the Essex County Bar's Achievement Awards," said Karen Sacks, Esq., founding executive director of VLJ. "They have dedicated countless hours to VLJ with Delia focusing on family law and Geoffrey on our ReLeSe program. Their efforts enable us to move even closer to fulfilling our mission of equal justice for all within the legal system."

Rosamond is a partner with McCarter & English, LLP, where he serves as the chairman of the law firm's Pro Bono Committee. He leads McCarter's extensive efforts with VLJ's ReLeSe program, often training attorneys to handle expungement cases. Rosamond has been a member of the ReLeSe Steering Committee since its inception and was honored as VLJ's "Pro Bono Attorney of the Year" in 2008.

Murphy, who focuses her legal practice on family law and is based in Bloomfield, has volunteered with VLJ since 2001 and been a member of VLJ's Board of Trustees since 2008. She is an integral part of the not-for-profit's divorce seminars and clinics, both of which are held at the Essex County Family Courthouse. Murphy is frequently recognized for her pro bono efforts and received ECBA's Bernard J. Kuttner Pro Bono Service Award in 2009. She often mentors and trains other volunteer attorneys to handle family law cases.

For more information about ECBA's Installation and Awards Dinner, please visit www.essexbar.com.

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Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) provides comprehensive legal services to economically-disadvantaged adults, children, and families in New Jersey to ensure fair and equal treatment within the legal system. Programs include free legal counsel and advice, educational seminars on various legal matters, and direct representation for at-risk individuals facing critical civil legal issues. Established in 2001, VLJ has grown from a grass roots effort of 30 volunteer attorneys in Essex County to a state-wide 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation with six staff attorneys and more than 1,500 volunteer attorneys providing free legal services to thousands of clients each year.