Legal Aid Society

Empowering People with Disability & Health Issues

We help New Yorkers obtain and maintain the benefits to which they are entitled and ensure that public programs are administered with the fairness and due process required by law.

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Every day, in courthouses and communities across the city, we advocate for the rights of all New Yorkers. Learn more about the services we provide.

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Making a Difference

Projects, Units & Initiatives

Our specialized teams have experience working on nearly every area of law that impacts New Yorkers. Explore the ways we fight on behalf of clients and communities.

A Day in the Life

Connecting 31K+ New Yorkers to the Right Help Over the Phone

Even after 30 years of their time as a social worker and non-profit administrator and six years at The Legal Aid Society, Charlie Scheel still expects the unexpected in their role as Director of Helplines, Civil Practice.

Charlie Scheel 

Our Impact

LAS Secures Settlement Expanding Dental Coverage to Millions of New Yorkers

The Legal Aid Society, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP announced a historic settlement in Ciaramella v. Zucker – a federal class action lawsuit brought against the New York State Department of Health (DOH) on behalf of Medicaid recipients in New York who were denied coverage for medically necessary dental care by New York State.

By the Numbers

The efforts of our Health Law Unit, Disability Advocacy Project and +HIV/AIDs Representation Project ensure hardworking New Yorkers have access to the rights and benefits to which they’re entitled.

7.8M

New Yorkers on Medicaid, a 1.7M increase since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

1 in 5

Children in New York City currently experience food insecurity, while 28.7 percent of children in the Bronx are food insecure.

90%

Of women living with HIV in NYC are Black and/or Latina.

A contribution to The Legal Aid Society is about more than money.

Every donation helps us offer essential legal services to thousands of everyday New Yorkers, helping people buy food, pay rent, and care for themselves and their families.

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