Twyla Carter, Attorney-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer of The Legal Aid Society, reflects on three years leading the organization in a new op-ed for the New York Law Journal.

Carter touched on many aspects of Legal Aid’s work across the Civil, Criminal Defense, and Juvenile Rights practices, including important victories securing an independent receiver to oversee Rikers Island, the creation of a state-level housing voucher program, and new legislation to reform the flawed system of anonymous reports to the NYS Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.

Carter also emphasized that securing funding to ensure higher salaries, manageable caseloads, and up-to-date technology remains a top priority for the organization moving forward.

“Looking ahead, the fight for justice and equality continues,” she writes in part. “We will keep demanding increased funding to better support our staff and services, pushing for true funding equity, advocating for legislative reforms that center the needs of our communities, and pursuing systemic litigation that moves us toward a fairer New York.”

“Our work is only possible because of our dedicated staff and supporters who stand together to defend the rights of the most vulnerable New Yorkers and make The Legal Aid Society the powerhouse it has been and will continue to be.”

Read the full piece here.