The National Employment
Lawyers Association –
New Jersey

The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) was founded in 1985 by visionary employment attorney Paul Tobias with a singular mission: to support and empower attorneys dedicated to protecting the rights of working people. Recognizing that employees often face employers and defense teams with significantly greater resources, NELA was established to provide a strong, collaborative community of advocates committed to ensuring fairness, dignity, and justice in the workplace.

Today, NELA remains the nation's only professional organization comprised exclusively of attorneys who represent individual employees. Its members champion the rights of workers in matters involving employment discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour violations, employee benefits, whistleblower protections, and other employment-related disputes.

With more than 4,000 members throughout the United States and abroad, NELA attorneys have represented hundreds of thousands of employees in their pursuit of justice. The organization is also a leading voice in shaping employment and civil rights law, regularly filing amicus curiae briefs in significant cases before the United States Supreme Court and other appellate courts. Through its network of more than sixty-nine state and local affiliates, NELA fosters education, advocacy, and collaboration among attorneys committed to advancing workplace rights.