Hughes Justice Complex, Trenton, New Jersey/photo by Carmen Natale

The New Jersey Supreme Court has issued an order to allow attorneys not licensed in New Jersey to provide temporary, supervised pro bono assistance to individuals and small businesses impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The state for weeks has been under a public safety and health emergency declaration by Gov. Phil Murphy.

On Wednesday, the governor extended the executive order declaration for the second time in nearly two months for up to another 30 days.

The order states: "This emergency has resulted in severe disruption to all aspects of society and commerce in New Jersey and has adversely affected the ability of New Jersey residents and small businesses to obtain adequate needed legal services in all instances."

The order, dated Monday and issued with an accompanying notice to the bar dated Wednesday, is effective immediately and in effect until further notice. In it, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said allowing for pro bono work by out-of-state counsel, including in-house counsel, was another measure to minimize disruption and allow access to the state's court and legal system during the health crisis.

It was the latest measure by the court in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak that has shuttered courthouses, law offices, and suspended or delayed proceedings since early March. Court administrators recently said that about 90% of the judiciary is working remotely, serving tens of thousands of people since mid-March.

In late April, the Supreme Court announced other directives to keep the court system functioning and to minimize backlogs.

On April 24, Rabner issued an omnibus order to resume the operations of some court sessions and activities, while extending the deadline for others.

Just days before that order, Rabner and acting Administrative Director for the Courts Glenn Grant issued updated guidelines on the use of remote proceedings to maintain a seamless flow of court events through video or phone conference.

Under Monday's order, an out-of-state attorney seeking to participate in pro bono work must be licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction, and not be disbarred, suspended from practice, or otherwise restricted from practice in any jurisdiction. The participating attorney must also be supervised by an attorney licensed and in good standing in New Jersey, "either through a legal services or public interest organization or law school clinical or pro bono program certified under R. 1:21-11(b)(1) or (b)(3), or independent of any such organization or program," according to the order.

Such out-of-state counsel must work on a "pro bono basis without compensation, expectation of compensation, or other direct or indirect pecuniary gain to the lawyer," the order said.

Also according to the order, the supervising attorney must file a certification with the Supreme Court regarding all attorneys who provide pro bono assistance and the nature of their assistance.

The order refers questions to Superior Court Clerk Michelle Smith at [email protected] or 609-421-6100.