The National Employment Lawyers Association was founded in 1985 by visionary employment attorney Paul Tobias. His goal was to provide assistance and support to lawyers engaged in the important work of protecting the rights of employees. These rights need to be defended against the greater resources of their employers and the defense bar. NELA is the country's only professional organization that is exclusively comprised of lawyers who represent individual employees. Cases may involve employment discrimination, wrongful termination, employee benefits and other employment-related matters.

Today, NELA counts more than 4,000 lawyers as members in the United States and abroad. They have represented hundreds of thousands of individuals in disputes against their employers. NELA submits amicus curiae briefs in virtually all U.S. Supreme Court cases involving employment and civil rights-related legal issues. The organization has more than sixty-nine state and local affiliates around the country. The National Employment Lawyers Association - New Jersey is one of them. It was founded in 1987 by Peter Van Schaick.