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Legal Aid in NYC: What the Legal Aid Society of New York City Offers

published March 02, 2023

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( 33 votes, average: 3.9 out of 5)
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Summary

The Legal Aid Society of New York City (LASNYC) is a non-profit legal service provider dedicated to providing quality civil legal representation and assist with community advocacy to low-income individuals and families throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Founded in 1876, the Society is the oldest and one of the largest legal services providers in the country. It manages more than 270,000 cases, represents more than 500,000 individuals, and operates through a wide network of legal assistance offices, court-based legal assistance programs, and civil litigation offices.


At LASNYC, the staff, including attorneys, paralegals, and support staff, are committed to advocating for the legal interests of low-income individuals and families throughout New York City. The Society provides representation in civil matters, including housing, family, public benefits, elder law, guardianship, health care, consumer, bankruptcy, immigration, and education. It also offers community legal education, community outreach and advocac initiatives, as well as access to justice initiatives.

The Society's legal programs are funded in part by City and State agencies, foundations, and private donors. Volunteers, both lawyers and non-lawyers, contribute their time and skills to increase access to justice.

To provide the highest quality of legal assistance and support services to clients, LASNYC has established several core values. They are committed to providing legal assistance to all persons regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, age, economic status, or other factors. Additionally, the Society strives to ensure that clients receive ethical and competent representation and that the rights and interests of clients are safeguarded.

The Society also seeks to further the public interest by promoting an understanding of the law and its impact on people's lives. Through activities such as community education, the Society strives to inform the public of their legal rights and the importance of access to justice.

In addition to providing legal services, the Legal Aid Society of New York City is involved in legislative advocacy and legal reform on behalf of clients. Through lobbying and public education campaigns, the Society undertakes activities that seek to strengthen the laws and legal protections available to the most vulnerable members of society.

The Legal Aid Society of New York City is a trailblazer in the legal services field and is dedicated to providing quality civil legal services and community advocacy to low-income individuals and families in New York City. With a staff of attorneys, paralegals and support staff, the Society provides legal representation in civil matters, community legal education, access to justice initiatives, and legislative advocacy and legal reform activities. Through its commitment to providing economic, social and legal justice, the Society seeks to ensure that all members of society can have their needs met and rights protected.
Questions Answered In This Article
 

What are the main practice areas of The Legal Aid Society?

The Legal Aid Society has civil, criminal defense, and juvenile divisions. The criminal defense division accounts for two-thirds of its caseload. Additionally, services from the civil division include assistance with employment law, health law, housing law, and immigration law.
 

What are some of The Legal Aid Society's special community projects?

The Legal Aid Society has recently taken on two special community projects. The first is the World Trade Center project, which provides legal assistance to thousands of New Yorkers affected by 9/11. The second is the Campaign for Harlem, which includes a new 29,000-square-foot building and a $22 million fund to support the office and neighborhood.
 

What types of compensation does The Legal Aid Society offer its attorneys?

The Legal Aid Society provides its attorneys with basic monetary compensation and other non-monetary benefits such as personal fulfillment and invaluable job experience.
 

What qualities does The Legal Aid Society look for in its candidates?

Besides academic excellence, The Legal Aid Society seeks candidates with a proven commitment to working with the poor.
 

Does The Legal Aid Society provide internship or fellowship opportunities?

The Legal Aid Society provides exceptional fellowship and internship opportunities. The second-year law student interns are assigned court cases under supervision after a six-week training program.?
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The Mission of The Legal Aid Society of New York City

The Legal Aid Society of New York City was established in 1876 to provide free legal services for low-income and underprivileged citizens of the city. For over 140 years, the organization has sought to fulfill its mission of “promoting justice and providing high-quality legal services” to those who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. Today, The Legal Aid Society is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive provider of legal services to the poor in the country.
 

Legal Services Provided by The Legal Aid Society

The Legal Aid Society offers a variety of services, including assistance in criminal court, civil court, housing court, family court, immigration court, and juvenile justice court. In addition, their services include representation in administrative hearings, such as unemployment insurance and public assistance, social security disability, and veterans benefits proceedings. The organization also provides legal consultation and assistance in filing appeals to the New York State Appellate Division, Family Court, and Supreme Court.
 

Programs Offered by The Legal Aid Society

The Legal Aid Society also offers specialized programs for clients. These programs include the Criminal Practice, which provides clients with criminal defense representation, community-based alternatives to incarceration, and reentry support. The Housing Practice focuses on tenants' rights and homeless prevention, while the Civil Practice assists clients in accessing benefits, advocacy services, community outreach, and education. The Immigration Practice helps individuals fight deportation, apply for visas and green cards, and receive asylum status.
 

Funding of The Legal Aid Society

The Legal Aid Society relies on a variety of sources for its funding, including grants from the New York State Unified Court System, city and state government, and private foundations. In addition, the organization is funded by individual contributions and fundraising events. Through its efforts, the organization provides a vital service to those in need of legal assistance in New York City.

Since its origin in 1876, The Legal Aid Society of New York City has been dedicated to providing public interest legal services, generally to New York's underclasses. What initially began as one attorney hired by the German Society of New York to protect German immigrants from exploitation has now grown into the nation's oldest and largest public interest law firm. New York attorneys looking for a job that will help ensure public access to legal assistance will not find a better opportunity than with the 800-lawyer Legal Aid Society. With offices in all five boroughs and an annual caseload topping 300,000, Legal Aid will undoubtedly provide copious amounts of experience in public interest law.

Legal Aid's practice areas consist of its civil, criminal defense and juvenile divisions, with the criminal defense practice accounting for two-thirds of its caseload. Historically, the Society's civil division has been the primary basis of the organization, providing a range of services including assistance in employment law, health law, housing law, and immigration law. The attorneys in the criminal defense division serve as New York City's primary public defenders. The criminal division has recently experienced tremendous growth with the addition of 80 new attorneys this past fall, bringing the division total to 500 attorneys. Finally, the juvenile division handles over 90% of all New York City Family Court cases and is currently working with the Family Court to prioritize a child's need for stability in the court system.

Aside from providing legal assistance to the poor, Legal Aid also takes on special community projects. Among its recent undertakings is the World Trade Center project, which provides legal assistance to thousands of New Yorkers facing uncertain housing, employment or living situations due to the 9/11 disaster. Another project taken on by Legal Aid in its commitment to the community is the Campaign for Harlem. At the core of this project is the construction of a 29,000 square foot building that will alleviate the current cramped conditions of the Harlem office. In addition to the new building, the Campaign for Harlem project hopes to raise a $22 million fund to provide continuing financial support for the office and the surrounding neighborhood.

Devoid of the usual corporate perks such as expensive luncheons and cocktail parties, the Legal Aid Society provides its attorneys basic monetary compensation and uses the rest of its funds to further its causes. Attorneys seem happy to work with non-corporate salaries and derive their satisfaction from the altruistic nature of their work. But the low salaries do not necessarily eliminate job competition. Budget restrictions for many public interest firms, including Legal Aid, mean the number of jobs is strictly limited. And in addition to academic excellence, Legal Aid looks for a proven commitment to working with the poor in its candidates. For those future attorneys with interest in public interest law, the Society also offers exceptional fellowship and internship opportunities. In fact, second year law student interns are assigned court cases under supervision after a six-week training program.

While many attorneys join The Legal Aid Society with aspirations of changing the world, most come to realize that the real emotional rewards lie in helping one individual or family at a time. Although The Legal Aid Society only offers small salaries and budget restrictions limit the number of available jobs, staff attorneys report great personal fulfillment as well as invaluable job experience.

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published March 02, 2023

( 33 votes, average: 3.9 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.