Legal Aid Society

The Legal Aid Society is built on one simple but powerful belief: that no New Yorker should be denied the right to equal justice.

As the nation's oldest and largest provider of free legal services, The Legal Aid Society has been part of New York City's social fabric since 1876 and our growth has mirrored that of the city we serve. We seek to be a beacon of hope for New Yorkers who feel neglected -regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how they identify. Today, we are proud to be the largest, most influential social justice law firm in New York City.

Our staff and attorneys deliver justice in every borough, working tirelessly to defend our clients and dismantle the hidden, systemic barriers that can prevent them from thriving. Through a network of neighborhood and court-based offices, LAS provides a full range of civil legal services as well as criminal defense work and juvenile rights representation in Family Court. Whether through individual representation or major class action law reform, our diverse staff lawyers, social workers, paralegals, investigators and support and administrative personnel annually handle more than 300,000 legal matters for individuals and families who cannot afford counsel. As passionate advocates for individuals and families, The Legal Aid Society is an indispensable component of the legal, social, and economic fabric of our City.

Each year approximately 3,000 attorneys and legal professionals - primarily from New York's leading law firms and corporate law departments - handled thousands of matters on behalf of our clients. Pro Bono work ranged from complex litigation to staffing an immigration hotline. Many of these matters are part of a law firm project in which the firm, under partner leadership, staffs a

number of cases annually. We would be glad to meet with your firm or corporate legal department to discuss developing a customized pro bono project.

The Legal Aid Society hosts attorneys through the Attorney Emeritus Program, a program for transitioning and retired attorneys: https://www.nysattorneyemeritus.law/. We welcome discussions with law firms and individual attorneys who are interested in learning more about this program.

In addition to law firm projects and the Attorney Emeritus program, the Legal Aid Society offers pro bono opportunities for individual lawyers. You can visit The Legal Aid Society website at https://legalaidnyc.org/take-action/volunteer-with-us/all-pro-bono-opportunities/ to learn more about our pro bono opportunities.

  • County(s) of Volunteer Opportunity: All NYC, Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), NY (Manhattan), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island)
  • Area of law: Community Development, Consumer, Criminal Appeals, Disability, Education, Elder Law, Employment, Family & Juvenile, Foreclosure, Health, HIV/AIDS, Homeless, Housing, Immigration & Naturalization, Nonprofit Organizations, Prisoners, Public Benefits, Taxes, Law Reform and Appeals, Micro-entrepreneurship, Predatory Lending, Supreme Court Litigation, Parole, Prisoners Rights, Sealing, Students Rights, Wrongful Conviction
  • Populations Served: Asylum Seekers, Children, Communities of Color, Detained individuals, Domestic Violence Victims, Elderly, Farm workers, General Public, HIV, Human Trafficking Survivors, Immigrant youth and unaccompanied minors, Immigrants, Individuals who are not in legal immigration status, Individuals with criminal histories, Individuals with physical/mental disabilities, Juveniles, Lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender, Low Income, Micro-enterprises, Military/Veterans, Native Americans, Nonprofits, Persons with Disabilities, Prisoners/Criminal Defendants, State Residents, Torture survivors, Women, Working poor and unemployed
  • Opportunities For: Law Students, Lawyers, Paralegals, Senior Lawyers
  • Need for non-English services: Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish
  • Hours for Pro Bono Opportunities: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm
  • Malpractice insurance is provided for volunteers: Yes
  • Training Provided: Yes
  • Training Required: No
  • CLE credit for trainings: Yes
  • Training / Supervision Comments: The Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Practice primarily utilizes a co-counseling model. Participating attorneys assume primary responsibility for their cases, including corporate appearances, but do receive one-to-one supervision by the LAS attorney(s) who previously screened the matter for legal merit and client financial eligibility. Training manuals, duplicate case files, sample papers, and other necessary information are provided in every matter.
  • CLE credit for pro bono: Yes
  • Mentoring or supervision offered: Yes
  • Volunteer lawyers need to meet a caseload or hours requirement: No
  • Types of projects in need of Pro Bono help: Client counseling (e.g., brief advice), Draft legal documents (e.g., briefs), Litigation: Appellate, Litigation: Impact, Litigation: Trial/Direct Representation, Mentor volunteer lawyers or law students, Transactional work
  • Volunteers may participate long-distance: Yes
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