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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 3,000 volunteers donated 190,000 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, Director 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.
Hours of pro bono work by 3,038 volunteers
Attorneys from 71 law firms
Interns from 67 law schools
Unable to hold our annual Pro Bono Publico Awards event, this year nearly 1,200 volunteer attorneys from the following firms received an outdoor dining blanket in appreciation of their efforts on behalf of the clients of The Legal Aid Society.
The Legal Aid Society held the 2019 Pro Bono Publico Awards Ceremony at the Prince George Ballroom on Monday, October 28th, honoring over 260 individual attorneys and 41 law firms for their outstanding and sustained achievements in pro bono services. Judge Edwina G. Mendelson, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, presented the awards to the honorees.
The Public Interest Law Leadership Award was presented to Jennifer L. Kroman, of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Beginning in 2012, Jennifer’s collaboration with the Exploitation Intervention Project established a ground breaking pro bono project representing survivors of human trafficking seeking vacatur of prior convictions.
The 2019 Honorable Jonathan Lippman Pro Bono Law Firm Award was presented to Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, in recognition of its exceptional pro bono commitment to our organization and clients. Last year nearly 100 Debevoise staff contributed over 4,600 hours of critical legal assistance to clients in areas as diverse as immigration defense, disability advocacy, civil rights litigation, criminal appeals, and the preservation of affordable housing.