Twyla Carter, Attorney-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer of The Legal Aid Society, has been honored with a top-ten ranking in City & State’s annual Law Power 100 list.

Each year the list honors recognizes the most influential legal professionals in the world of New York politics and government. The list features high-profile elected officials, powerful prosecutors, high-ranking appointees, partners at prominent firms, defense attorneys, public defenders, legal scholars and others in the profession who advise or oversee governmental bodies, advocate for policy changes or argue cases before our highest courts.

Carter joined Legal Aid in August, becoming the first Black woman and first Asian American to serve in this role in its over 145-year history. She has led the organization’s ongoing efforts to ensure the City complies with right to shelter laws as migrants are bused to New York from southern states and immersed herself in Legal Aid’s work to combat the ongoing crisis in City jails.

Twyla has been engaged from day one on the critical issues of funding fairness and pay parity with City attorneys. Years of flat funding and mounting operational costs – including technological demands, rent, healthcare, pension and contractually obligated salary increases – have pushed organizations like Legal Aid to the brink, with staff departing at record levels, jeopardizing essential legal services offered to New Yorkers in need. Cater has pressed all levels of government to do their part to fairly fund public defenders and civil legal service providers.

“Defenders and civil legal services providers are just as much a part of the legal system as the prosecutors, police, corrections, and others in law enforcement,” said Carter. “When one side is overwhelmingly funded and one is severely underfunded, people suffer, and injustices flourish, disproportionately affecting low-income New Yorkers of color.”

Congratulations to Twyla, who ranks 9th on this year’s list.