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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.
Our client is an engineer and business school graduate turned chef, who completed training at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Culinary Arts. She has worked as a pastry and catering chef at several well-known establishments including Amy’s Bread and Smile to Go and has been featured in multiple episodes of Epicurious’s 50 Person Prep Challenge and on the popular Food Network show Chopped.
The client founded a brand which sells gourmet candied nuts and looks forward to adding more snacks. She now seeks pro bono assistance in obtaining state and federal trademark registrations for her company.
The Community Development Unit’s client submitted an application to the USPTO to register a trademark for her business name. The USPTO denied the application based on Trademark Act Section 2(d) for a likelihood of confusion with an already registered mark. The mark was also denied for failure to show the applied-for mark in use in commerce with any specified goods. This determination was made final by notice dated January 29, 2025. Our client does not understand the written determination from the agency attorney and would like an attorney with trademark experience to help her understand the decision and advise her on next steps.
Our Community Development Practice seeks advice from an attorney with expertise in business casualty insurance.
Earlier this year a fire destroyed and displaced our client’s business. Our client submitted an insurance claim over five months ago, but the insurance company is seeking verification that our client maintained certain protective safeguards, specifically a sprinkler system, prior to issuing payment. The attorney from Community Development seeks to understand whether insurance companies can refuse to pay if the insurer did not comply with the policy endorsement or cannot provide proof of compliance. Our colleague will use this advice to continue advocating for our client’s small business.
The Community Development Project (CDP) partners with the NYC Department of Small Business Services Emergency Response Unit to assist small business owners impacted by a casualty, such as a fire, roof collapse, or a water main break. The business owners often have questions about how to file an insurance claim after a casualty and our team would like to create materials that describe the next steps and best practices for small business owners. Specifically, our team would like these materials to outline what steps a business owner should take after a casualty, important deadlines, including when should they file, how they would determine what their insurance policy covers and a description of the important provisions, information on damages, and whether they should they use an insurance adjuster.
A Section 8 tenant recently won a judgement in Bronx County small claims court against her former landlord. The landlord never returned the tenant’s security deposit when she moved out and the client needs this money to support her child who is about to begin college. This tenant seeks pro bono representation to help enforce the judgment and secure any interest that accrues. She also would like assistance in requesting an execution for the Sheriff to seize assets and navigate any potential future appeal. The landlord has filed a notice of appeal, but it is unclear if he will perfect as he is representing himself pro se.
Our client is facing a holdover eviction in Brooklyn Housing Court and The Legal Aid Society is representing him in his eviction. Currently, our client needs pro bono assistance to enforce a claim against an Estate in Kings County Surrogate’s Court.
The Estate is trying to evict our client and his family from their single-family home in Brooklyn. Our client has lived in the home since 2011, when he moved in to serve as the primary caretaker of the home’s elderly owner. In 2020, our client and the owner signed a written, notarized contract in which the owner agreed to transfer his house to our client in exchange for our client’s caregiving services. The owner passed away in 2023 without a Will and without having transferred the house to our client.
On May 3, 2025, our client filed a verified claim against the Estate. The claim seeks specific performance of the 2020 contract, so transfer of the home from the Estate to our client or, in the alternative, the fair market value of the house. Our client has also asked to be repaid for the cost of the owner’s funeral. Despite our client meeting his side of the bargain, the Estate is failing to uphold theirs and our client now needs to file a proceeding to determine the validity and enforceability of the claim.