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Attorneys, law students, and other volunteers work in partnership with Legal Aid Society staff in order to expand our ability to provide legal services to a greater number of clients and communities.
All pro bono referrals have been screened by our attorneys and legal professionals who are experts in the field. Those same experts remain on the case to provide mentorship and guidance throughout the representation.
Last year, over 2,900 volunteers donated 200,000 hours of legal assistance to the clients of The Legal Aid Society.
But no metrics can adequately quantify what pro bono assistance means to a family facing homelessness, a client whose rights are violated by unlawful police conduct, or a child in foster care whose educational needs are not being met.
For over 140 years The Legal Aid Society has worked together with the private bar to provide life changing legal assistance and deliver “Justice In Every Borough”.
The staff of The Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Practice is:
Lou Sartori, Pro Bono Counsel and Director, Pro Bono Practice Karen Fisher Gutheil, Supervising Attorney Rosemary Hare-Bey, Pro Bono Coordinator
Browse the latest Pro Bono Opportunities at The Legal Aid Society. NOTE: These opportunities are only available to attorneys affiliated with firms that have an established pro bono relationship with The Legal Aid Society.
If you are interested in working on one of these matters, please contact the Pro Bono Counsel at your law firm to receive authorization and check conflicts.
volunteers
hours of pro bono work
participating law firms & law schools.
The Legal Aid Society is proud to recognize Milbank LLP for its exceptional pro bono commitment to our organization and clients. Under the leadership of Managing Partner and Legal Aid Board Member Scott Edelman, Pro Bono Counsel Anthony Perez Cassino, and Deputy Pro Bono Counsel Rebecca Heller, the attorneys, legal assistants, and administrative staff at Milbank have been committed partners with our team in meeting the legal needs of the less fortunate in New York City.
No firm has made more of an impact on the clients and communities served by The Legal Aid Society in the past year. Advocating on behalf of young immigrants, homeless students, and people experiencing the scourge of unlawful police behavior, the attorneys at Milbank achieved outstanding results that improved the circumstances of Legal Aid clients and thousands of New Yorkers in every borough.
Jennifer Cowan is recognized for her outstanding achievement overseeing the Debevoise & Plimpton pro bono program and her constant support of The Legal Aid Society and its clients.
Each year, Debevoise volunteers handle more than 800 pro bono matters for low-income clients across the country. Thanks to Jennifer’s efforts, an average of 100 Debevoise attorneys and professional staff have contributed more than 4,000 hours each year to the clients of The Legal Aid Society since 2018. Debevoise has provided critical assistance to clients in areas as diverse as immigration defense, disability advocacy, civil rights litigation, criminal appeals, and the preservation of affordable housing, and Jennifer is actively involved in many of those cases. Despite the many challenges of practicing law during a global pandemic, Jennifer and her colleagues have continued to meaningfully engage in pro bono work on behalf of our clients, including as co-counsel with Legal Aid in Douglas v. City of New York, an action to ensure police officers comply with a new law requiring tickets, not arrests, for low-level offenses.