Legal Aid Society
hamburger

Reforming Law & Policy

To bring justice, fairness and equity to our clients and their communities, we must not only represent our individual clients, but we must also change the laws and policies that are causing the harm. We create this change through affirmative litigation, law reform and policy advocacy and we have a record of success that is decades long.

Learn More About Our Reform Work

The law reform units in each of our practice areas work together and with the staff of our neighborhood trial offices to ensure that we take on the issues most pressing to our clients and that our advocacy aligns with the needs of those most impacted and closest to the issues.

Our Impact

A Clean Slate for Millions of New Yorkers

The Legal Aid Society lauded Governor Kathy Hochul for signing the Clean Slate Act into law. Legal Aid had long been an advocate for the critical legislation that will automatically seal conviction records for more than 2.3 million New Yorkers — a disproportionate number of whom are from low-income communities of color.

Our Impact

Dental Coverage for New Yorkers on Medicaid

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.

The settlement will affect roughly five million individuals statewide, as reported by The New York Times. Most significantly, it ends the strict limit denying coverage for crowns and root canals to individuals with more than four pairs of teeth, an archaic policy not aligned with modern US dental practice. Coverage for those procedures will now be approved for Medicaid recipients when deemed medically necessary. Changes to the benefit program focus on added coverage for routine dental care and procedures, to help Medicaid patients preventatively maintain better oral and overall health.

By The Numbers

Our work goes beyond individual cases to address corrosive inequities and fundamental problems within the legal system, driving landmark rulings that positively impact the lives of millions, in New York City and beyond.

5.5M+

Adults with Medicaid will have access to critical dental services as a result of our settlement in Ciaramella v. Zucker

2M+

New Yorkers who will have their conviction records sealed thanks to our advocacy for the Clean Slate Act

 

340K+

New Yorkers protected from eviction due to our advocacy in passing CityFHEPS housing voucher reform and expansion

Make a Meaningful Impact

The Legal Aid Society changes the lives of our clients with the help of our generous supporters.

Support Our Work