For his hard work on behalf of consumers in need of consumer debt counseling, Benjamin Zilbergeld is VLJ's Pro Bono Attorney of the Month for August. He volunteered for two sessions of the Newark Legal Advice and Resource Clinic for Consumers, helping clients who couldn't afford to hire private attorneys to guide them through the consumer credit legal maze.

Benjamin's knowledge of how creditors operate make him well suited to advise clients burdened with consumer debt. He spent years in the financial industry before practicing law. Now he works primarily in the areas of general and business litigation as an associate attorney at Gregory & Reed, LLC in Parsippany.

"Helping clients in need is a satisfying endeavor," he says. "We had a participant who came to the clinic with a stack of legal papers from creditors and no clue about what to do. She was scared and upset, but we were able to help her take the first steps in resolving the matter, and she actually was smiling when she left."

Many of the clients have received pro se packets from courts, but need help from lawyers like Benjamin to fill out the forms that will get them started on a dialogue with creditors, and perhaps negotiate a settlement. Some clients have also had bad experiences with debt counselors who charge fees.

Benjamin says his firm, Gregory & Reed, puts an emphasis on pro bono work and that he found VLJ among a list of certified providers. He put himself on VLJ's e-mail list and responded to a call for volunteers.

After graduating from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, in 1997 with a degree in political science and history, Benjamin went to work in the financial services industry and then embarked on a legal career.

He graduated from Seton Hall Law School in 2008 and clerked for Superior Court Judge Michael P. Wright in Morris and Sussex counties, handling Special Civil Part and Law Division cases involving landlord/tenant issues, consumer and commercial debt disputes, business and employment law, consumer and construction fraud, insurance coverage and personal injury litigation.