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Browse the latest Pro Bono Opportunities at The Legal Aid Society.
NOTE: These opportunities are only available to attorneys affiliated with firms that have an established pro bono relationship with The Legal Aid Society.
If you are interested in working on one of these matters, please contact the Pro Bono Counsel at your law firm to receive authorization and check conflicts.
The Community Development Unit’s client submitted an application to the USPTO to register a trademark for her business name. The USPTO denied the application based on Trademark Act Section 2(d) for a likelihood of confusion with an already registered mark. The mark was also denied for failure to show the applied-for mark in use in commerce with any specified goods. This determination was made final by notice dated January 29, 2025. Our client does not understand the written determination from the agency attorney and would like an attorney with trademark experience to help her understand the decision and advise her on next steps.
Our client seeks assistance petitioning to become executor of his deceased father’s estate, who died intestate. Our client’s late father left several outstanding accounts that need to be closed, and our client wishes to obtain any necessary powers of administration that will authorize him to manage the estate. Ideally pro bono counsel would assist our client with this process, but advice only would also be welcome.
In May 2023, a fire broke out in our client’s apartment, causing him to be homeless for many months. Since returning home, our client received a letter from his landlord’s insurance company threatening to sue him for over one million dollars, claiming that his actions are responsible for the fire and ensuing damage. Our client, a senior living on social security, seeks advice and counsel from a pro bono attorney to understand next steps, including defenses or resolution strategies. If in fact the landlord’s insurance company commences litigation against this client, he would also be open to representation by an interested firm. Our client was asked to respond to the letter within fifteen days of receipt, so he is eager to receive advice as soon as possible.
This client’s preferred language is Arabic, and we expect that pro bono co-counsel would assist with providing translation and interpretation as needed.
Our client has created a platform that will allow individuals to buy and sell tokenized securities. This social enterprise may be regulated by federal and state law related to the sale of securities. The Community Development Unit, on behalf of our client, is seeking Pro Bono assistance in drafting a memo that outlines the law and regulations that may govern this novel start-up.
The Legal Aid Society’s Community Development Unit was recently approached by a small business owner who is seeking assistance with their business bankruptcy filing and possible dissolution of their business.
The owner opened his small business in 2014, which focused on walk-in repairs to electronic equipment and sold electronics second-hand. However, maintaining the business is no longer feasible. The shop is currently closed while the owner litigates a matter pertaining to the business’s commercial space, eliminating the owner’s ability to provide any in-person services and earn income. The owner has also found he can no longer keep up with required filings and expenses, which has led to both personal and business debt.
Legal Aid does not work on either small business bankruptcy filings or dissolutions but would be willing to assist with connecting a volunteer with this client to ensure they receive the support they need.
Our client, a Tenant, brought a case, Pro Se, in November of 2020 seeking repairs and alleging harassment against her landlord (LL). She accused the LL of failing to correct conditions and sharing her personal information with neighbors and building staff. The LL filed a Motion to Dismiss and for sanctions in June 2021. Legal Aid was then assigned to the Tenant and opposed the Motion to Dismiss. In December of 2021, the Motion to Dismiss was denied by the court.
In June of 2022, after consultation with her assigned counsel from Legal Aid, the Tenant moved to voluntarily discontinue the matter without prejudice. The LL cross-moved to discontinue with prejudice, to condition the discontinuance on payment of LL’s attorneys’ fees, and for sanctions. In October 2022, the Court granted the Tenant’s motion to discontinue without prejudice, but conditioned it on payment of LL’s attorneys’ fees, “based on the fact that Petitioner (tenant) waited so long in moving to discontinue the action, despite the court’s repeated invitations to do so.” No decision on the merits was ever reached.
The matter was put over for a fees hearing, which was litigated on August 18, 2023 and February 9, 2024. The parties submitted post-hearing memos of law in April and May of 2024. On February 11, 2025, the court awarded the LL $54,642.73
Established Appellate Division case law requires that absent a showing of prejudice to the non-moving party, a motion to discontinue should be granted unconditionally. An award of fees would be improper given this lack of prejudice, along with the lack of a determination on the merits of the Tenant’s claims. Awarding fees to the LL is also inappropriate because there was no prevailing party in this matter. Additionally, although the court raises concerns about how long the Tenant waited, only six months passed from when the court denied the LL’s Motion to Dismiss and when Tenant moved to discontinue.
We are seeking pro bono counsel to file and prosecute an appeal in the First Department to reverse the order conditioning discontinuance of Tenant’s HP proceeding on payment of LL’s attorney fees, reverse the order awarding a money judgment in the amount of $54,642.73, and vacate the judgments.
Our client is facing a holdover eviction in Brooklyn Housing Court and The Legal Aid Society is representing him in his eviction. Our client is being evicted from the home that he asserts was given to him by an older man in exchange for serving as this individual’s primary caretaker for more than a decade. The homeowner died intestate in 2023. Our client has lived in the home since 2011 with his three children and his partner.
He is now seeking assistance to help him contest the administration of the individual’s estate and the ownership of his home because upon his passing in 2023, our client is asserting that he became the rightful owner of the home. To prove he is the rightful owner, he seeks to proffer the deceased individual’s notarized will that was signed by both the individual and our client, that shows that the individual gave our client his home as payment for his services to him as his primary caretaker. Additionally, there may also be an unjust enrichment claim that could be made in Surrogate’s Court.
The letters of administration were filed 9/16/2024 in Brooklyn (Kings County) Surrogate’s Court. Ideally, the team would like to move to stay his Housing Court eviction case while he contests the administration of the estate in Surrogate’s Court. His next Housing Court date is March 31, 2025.