The Legal Aid Society, and co-counsel filed a federal class action lawsuit against the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to benefit transgender New Yorkers. The lawsuit sought Medicaid coverage for transgender people seeking life-saving health treatments, insisting that the lack of health care coverage was unconstitutional. The successful lawsuit resulted in the drafting of new coverage rules for Medicaid recipient

Legal Aid victories on behalf of New Yorkers included preserving the right to affordable housing, ending SNAP (food stamp) sanctions, and exonerating clients wrongly accused of crimes decades ago.

Legal Aid Society staff also pushed for continued reforms at Rikers Island regarding staff brutality, launched a bail reform initiative, sued the NYPD to safeguard the rights of bystanders recording police activity, and filed a federal lawsuit to prevent sexual abuse of women by guards.

Responding to the threats of the incoming Administration in Washington to deport or jail between 2-3 million immigrants with a criminal history, Legal Aid offered informational forums throughout all five boroughs.

Legal Aid’s Exploitation Intervention Project (EIP) handled nearly 1,400 cases in the state’s Human Trafficking Intervention Courts in 2016. Through its client support and empowerment, EIP won dismissal of the charges in nearly 85% of its cases. EIP also worked to free human trafficking survivors from the burden of a criminal record caused by their victimization; it has helped survivors vacate over 1,100 criminal convictions since its inception, paving the way for independence and stability. The Exploitation Intervention Project’s success in pursuing post-conviction relief for survivors of human trafficking now provides a model for national attorney training efforts.