STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator NILSA I. CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Senator CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.
District 9 (Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Space, A.M.Bucco, Singer, Singleton, Beach and Wimberly
SYNOPSIS
Directs Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into agreements to provide certain legal services to certain disabled veterans.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning agreements to provide certain legal services to certain disabled veterans and supplementing Title 38A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
b. The Commissioner shall develop criteria for disabled veterans and law firms to participate in the program.
c. The Commissioner shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, agreements established under this section are made with law firms located in the northern, central, and southern regions of the State.
d. Legal services shall be provided by law firms specializing in veteran benefits law. Representation shall be before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims following an adverse decision at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Representation shall be free of charge to a veteran or person acting on behalf of the veteran.
e. To be eligible to participate in the program, a disabled veteran shall have a net worth less than $2 million. For any representation not before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, no fee shall be charged except as permitted pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 14.636.
f. Participation in the program may be made at the request of the disabled veterans’ next-of-kin, friends, or fellow veterans.
g. To be eligible to participate in the program, a law firm shall, at a minimum, meet the following qualifications:
(2) a principal owner or practice section chairperson shall be licensed to practice law in the State of New Jersey and admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and has entered appearances in at least 300 cases at the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and is an accredited representative with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs;
(3) maintains a physical office in the State and has had a physical office in this State for at least one year prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislatures as this bill), and where staff is employed and available during normal business hours to meet with disabled veterans; and
(4) shall qualify as a non-profit under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as appropriate.
h. The Commissioner may require law firms that enter into agreements under this section to submit periodic reports on the legal services provided to disabled veterans.
i. In developing and carrying out agreements under this section, the Commissioner shall, to the extent practicable, consult with veteran service organizations, and coordinate appropriate outreach relationships with such organizations.
j. As used in this section:
“Law firm” means and includes a for-profit, non-profit, and solo practitioner business entity formed by one or more lawyers engaged in the practice of law.
“Disabled veteran” means any citizen and resident of this State now or hereafter honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component thereof, or the National Guard who has been or shall be declared by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or its successor agency, to have a service-connected disability.
k. The Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall promulgate, in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.
STATEMENT
Under this bill, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs will enter into agreements with law firms to provide federal appellate litigation services to eligible disabled veterans seeking disability compensation from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Commissioner will ensure that the agreements are made with law firms located in the northern, central, and southern regions of the State.
Under the bill, legal services will be provided by law firms specializing in veteran benefits law. Representation will be before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims following an adverse decision at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Representation will be free of charge to a veteran or person acting on behalf of the veteran. To be eligible to participate in the program, the veteran must have a net worth less than $2 million. For any representation not before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, no fee may be charged except as permitted pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 14.636.
To be eligible to participate in the program, a for-profit, non-profit, and solo practitioner law firm must, at a minimum, meet the following qualifications:
(1) the law firm must be focused on veteran benefits law with no less than ten years of experience representing disabled veterans in disability compensation cases before the VA as the representative of record based on VA Form 21-22a, appointing the firm as the veteran’s power of attorney;
(2) a principal owner or practice section chairperson must be licensed to practice law in the State of New Jersey and admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, has entered appearances in at least 300 cases at the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and is an accredited representative with the VA;
(3) maintains a physical office in the State and has had a physical office in this State for at least one year prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislatures as this bill), and where staff is employed and available during normal business hours to meet with disabled veterans; and
(4) must qualify as a non-profit under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as appropriate.
Under the bill, the Commissioner may require law firms that enter into agreements to submit periodic reports on the legal services provided to disabled veterans.
As used in the bill, “law firm” means and includes a for-profit, non-profit, and solo practitioner business entity formed by one or more lawyers engaged in the practice of law. Also, “veteran” is defined in the bill to mean any citizen and resident of this State now or hereafter honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component thereof, or the National Guard who has been or shall be declared by the VA to have a service-connected disability.