A New Jersey attorney’s inexperience with the kind of pro bono work he volunteered for has resulted in an admonition from the Disciplinary Review Board after taking on a veteran’s service-related disability claim and failing to advance it over the course of 10 months.

In 2010, attorney James E. Gelman, of Passaic County, volunteered with the Pro Bono Advocates Program, which is administered by the Public Counsel Law Center through the Center for Veteran’s Advancement, according to a letter decision issued by the DRB in the matter. Gelman specifically volunteered to represent veterans in connection with their service-related disability claims, despite having never previously handled that type of claim. He was assigned to represent E.M. in November 2010 in his service-related disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs.