Adriene Holder, Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice for The Legal Aid Society, recently joined The Capitol Pressroom to discuss how cuts at the Federal level will increase the need for civil legal services in New York City and beyond.

Holder testified last month before New York State Court of Appeals Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson’s annual hearing on civil legal services, urging continued funding to protect low-income New Yorkers. The testimony underscored how civil legal services not only secure access to justice but also drive systemic reforms that combat racism, poverty, and inequality.

Judge Wilson is a proponent of investment in civil legal services, but as Holder explained, the funding gap is still massive. She shared that it would cost $1 billion annually to properly serve all the New Yorkers who are living below the poverty line.

Holder also addressed changes at the Federal level that could present further challenges to low-income New Yorkers, specifically changes to Medicaid as a result of the HR1 (also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill”).

“New Yorkers are going to lose health benefits,” she said. “It’s been estimated that in New York alone, we’re talking about 1.5 million people. If you combine that with the idea that there will be fewer resources in civil legal services to help people navigate healthcare issues, health law issues, disability issues, it continues to have a cascading effect for individuals and their families.”

“It’s daunting,” Holder admitted. “It’s imperative in this moment that the State and locales do all that they can to hold on to the resources that they have committed as investments for civil legal services.”

Listen to the full segment below.