Our History
We are known for our ability to identify critical issues, develop and implement creative solutions and monitor ongoing results. Our staff has protected and strengthened the legal rights of people in New York who are poor, disabled or disenfranchised for more than fifty years.
We do this through three major areas of service:
We teach the law
by providing training, support and technical assistance to legal services and private attorneys and other community-based advocates to help them better serve their clients.
We practice the law
by providing direct civil legal assistance and undertaking impact litigation.
Each of these areas of service builds on and strengthens the other. Providing individual direct legal assistance to clients and working in local community collaborations strengthens and informs our policy analysis, research and advocacy by making sure it’s grounded in reality. Our policy and research efforts help strengthen and inform our training, support and technical assistance to the legal and human services communities around the state, helping to keep them as informed and up-to-date as possible about the legal rights and protections available to their clients and consumers. This support to the community gives us greater insight into how these laws, rules and regulations are directly impacting individuals which allows us to come full circle and provide the legal assistance and impact litigation where warranted to improve, strengthen, enforce and, where necessary, work to change those laws, rules and regulations. It is a powerful multi-pronged approach that strives not just to provide needed assistance, but have deeper and longer lasting impacts.
Mission
To make the law work for all new Yorkers, especially for those who need its protection the most.
Vision
To be the statewide leader working to achieve social and economic justice for people in New York State who are poor, disabled or disenfranchised. To be an organization that respects the dignity and promotes the growth of each staff member, cultivates leadership from within, and instills accountability through clear internal systems so that we are most effective in serving our clients and working for justice.
Our Impact Since 1973
People served
0 M
Generated through systems change work
$ 0 M
attorneys, advocates and court personnel trained.
0
Historic Timeline
Annual Reports
2024 Annual Report
2023 Annual Report
2019 Annual Report
2017-2018 Combined Annual Report
2016 Annual Report
