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Mission and History

Our Mission: Partners empowers low-income victims and survivors of domestic violence to build safe and secure futures for themselves and their children by providing equal access to justice. We offer quality legal assistance in domestic violence and family law matters.

Partners is a non-profit public interest law firm that is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of domestic violence and sexual assault victims through legal representation, advice and counseling sessions, and by advocating for procedural and legislative change to benefit victims.

Partners began in 2002 when two colleagues, Jane M. Hanson and Grace Lozito, recognized that there was a lack of legal services available to domestic violence victims. Now, nearly two decades later, over 4,000 victims of domestic violence have benefited from Partners’ services.

What We Do

Partners is here to support and guide domestic violence and sexual assault victims through the legal system and help them establish safety and stability for themselves and their children.

A domestic violence victim represented by an attorney is 10 times more likely to get a protective order than a victim without an attorney.*

Fighting for Justice

Partners offers free legal help to low-income victims. We help domestic violence victims secure restraining orders and sexual assault victims secure protective orders. We also assist with child and spousal support, visitation and custody, as well as post-judgment relief matters. Our legal assistance includes extensive advice and counsel and assistance with preparation of court papers for self-represented victims or representation by a pro bono attorney or by a Partners staff attorney.

Advocating for Victims

At Partners, we work to reduce the barriers that victims face in securing court-ordered protection. We recognize that it is especially difficult for self-represented victims who may have limited experience with the procedural or substantive law that applies to domestic violence and sexual assault court proceedings. Guided by the unique perspective of our attorneys and client advocates who directly represent domestic violence and sexual assault victims in court, we fight to advance policy and procedural changes that improve access to the courts for everyone regardless of race, gender or financial circumstances.

*Supporting Survivors: The Economic Benefits of Providing Civil Legal Assistance to Survivors of Domestic Violence, Institute for Policy Integrity, New York University School of Law, July 2015, p. 7.

Who We Serve

Our clients are low-income victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Counties We Serve

We serve clients with hearings in Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Passaic, and Union County Courts.