Our Leadership

It was truly an honor to be named the Attorney-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer of The Legal Aid Society this year, as it serves low-income people at such a critical juncture for our city. We are grappling with a host of issues, ranging from criminal defense to tenant rights, and access to justice for young people. More than ever, vulnerable New Yorkers need our services, and I look forward to further positioning the organization to strengthen its core direct services, policy advocacy, and impact litigation work.

I am a public defender to my core. I’ve dedicated my entire professional career to serving marginalized and disenfranchised communities, and I view my work here at The Legal Aid Society as an extension of that effort. We have taken an active role in ensuring New York City complies with right to shelter laws as thousands of migrants were bused to the city from southern states. We continued our fight against the ongoing humanitarian crisis in City jails. And we engaged with the City as it announced a plan to end youth homelessness.

I’m the daughter of Black and Chinese parents, and I truly value being part of an institution with such diverse organizational and board leadership. As I have visited our offices across the five boroughs over the last few months, I have also found myself incredibly proud to be part of a dynamic team of driven attorneys and supporting staff who show me, every day, what can be achieved through leadership, compassion, and a deep commitment to justice.

At a time, however, that our staff is contending with surging caseloads, they are grappling with the same economic pain – high inflation, soaring housing costs, rising prices for food, gas, and other expenses – that afflicts our clients. Some of our attorneys and staff can only make their monthly budget by taking on second jobs, and would in fact be eligible for our services if the need somehow arose. At the same time that the City seeks to expand mandated legal services, it has not provided adequate funding to account for the increased costs faced by public defenders. Without additional significant investment from the City, legal services organizations have had to leave open positions unfilled, and delay essential investments critical to the delivery of their services to clients. The current administration must recognize we are a part of the legal system too, and when the scales of justice tilt towards one side, people suffer.

Despite these obstacles, our passionate and dedicated workforce is still achieving remarkable results with fewer resources. Over the past year, The Legal Aid Society handled over 183,000 individual legal matters and 31,000 helpline calls, a 25% and 41% increase, respectively, over the previous year.
As we face direct attacks on our reproductive, voting, and immigrant rights, we find ourselves as a country in the civil rights movement of my lifetime. But The Legal Aid Society is up to the challenge, and, as always, we will work together to protect all New Yorkers.

Twyla Carter
Attorney-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer