Essex County Legal Aid Association
Newark, NJ 07102 Get Directions
Hours of Operation
Mon-Fri
9am-1pm
About Essex County Legal Aid Association
Free Legal Help on Civil Law Crises for low-income Essex County NJ Residents
DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS: If you need legal advice about a civil matter and qualify for free legal services, DO NOT come to ECLAA in Newark at our office in Room 118 at the Newark Hall of Records, 465 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07102.
Our practice is focused on civil law for low-income residents of Essex County. The most common forms of civil law affecting our clients are housing law at 96% of our cases (most often, tenants facing eviction and/or illegal and unsafe living conditions) and consumer law (collection, debtor relief, etc.) at 3%.
DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS, TRY TO HAVE THIS KIND OF INFORMATION READY FOR YOUR PHONE CALL WITH AN ECLAA ATTORNEY. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THIS INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL US ANYWAY:
- Proof of your residency in Essex County,
- documentation of your current income, as well as
any other information that might allow us to help you quickly and effectively (e.g., court date if you have one, docket number, court location if assigned, copies of any relevant documents about the emergency legal matter). - For tenants, such documentation includes as many of the following items: a copy of your lease if you have one, your rent receipts or other written proof that you have paid the rent in question, written correspondence with the landlord/manager (including text messages), photographs (even on your cellphone) of conditions in your apartment.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility for ECLAA’s free emergency legal help is based on your annual household income and the number of people in your family/household. (See the table below.)
ECLAA uses a maximum income eligibility cap of 250% of the Federal poverty guidelines for all our clients. If you make less each year than the maximum annual income for your size household, ECLAA will be able to provide our free emergency legal assistance to you and your family.
To figure out whether you are eligible for ECLAA’s free legal help, first find the size of your family/household (including all adults and children living with you). Then compare your annual household income with the maximum cap for annual income shown in the annual and weekly household income column for that household size. If your household income is less than the dollar amounts for your household size, you are eligible for ECLAA’s free legal services on your emergency civil matters. Your expected household income in 2020 is below 250% of the Federal poverty guideline:
Household Size Annual Income (Weekly Income)
1 person $ 31,225/year ($ 600 a week)
2 people $ 42,275/year ($ 813 a week)
3 people $ 53,325/year ($1,025 a week)
4 people $ 64,375/year ($1,238 a week)
5 people $ 75,425/year ($1,450 a week)
6 people $ 86,475/year ($1,663 a week)
7 people $ 97,525/year ($1,875 a week)
8 people $108,575/year ($2,088 a week)
For each additional person in your household above 8 people, add for each additional person $ 11,050 per year ($213 a week). We apologize for the complexity of this income cap, but it is a requirement of our major financial supporter. If your annual household income is higher than the numbers above, ECLAA is not able to help you.
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