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A4675
ASSEMBLY, No. 4675
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� MELINDA KANE
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Rumpf
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
���� As introduced.
��
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:
���� 1.�
a.� The Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs shall
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.
���� 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:�
���� (1)�
the law firm shall be focused on veteran benefits law with no less than ten
years of experience representing disabled veterans in disability compensation
cases before the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as the
representative of record based on the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs Form 21-22a, appointing the firm as the veteran�s power of attorney;
���� (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 Legislature 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 Legislature 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.