On the Front Lines for Justice: NYLAG in 2022
113,000
adults and children impacted by NYLAG’s services
$50 million
saved for NYLAG clients
350
dedicated team members
Using the power of the law, New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) fights for economic, racial, and social justice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. We center the voices of our clients to help them achieve justice, safety, and stability. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships.
Letter From Leadership
Our Year in Review
Our Programs
A Message From Our President and Board Chair
Lisa Rivera
President and CEO
Jill L. Rosenberg
Chair, Board of Directors
Dear Supporter,
2022 was a year of ongoing challenge for many. Still recovering from the financial and political turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, countless New Yorkers struggle to simply survive while facing rising costs of living and uncertainty. For NYLAG’s clients, who are experiencing poverty and are predominantly people of color, their needs continue to grow. The legal system and the administrative bodies that our clients rely upon for safety and stability often fail to provide justice, especially to individuals who cannot afford to pay for an attorney. NYLAG uplifts the voices of our clients every day to ensure they are heard in the institutions that hold power. From the first meeting through every hearing, NYLAG’s advocates work side-by-side with clients in asserting their rights. As we have for over 30 years, in 2022 NYLAG responded to meet clients’ needs during crises:
- Providing immigration relief—including defense against deportation—to hundreds of Afghans, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, and people from other nations fleeing violence, poverty, and political turmoil.
- Defending tenants against the devastating impacts of eviction and foreclosure—an urgent need after COVID-19 protections ended—preventing homelessness and displacement for countless families and individuals.
- Supporting those most vulnerable from the continued fallout of the pandemic, including workers earning a low wage, people with disabilities, and elders in need of life-saving medical care.
- Expanding legal access on-the-ground in communities across NYC though our COVID-19 Legal Resource Hotline (in operation through April 2022) and our Mobile Legal Help Center, which comes to New Yorkers directly in their neighborhoods to minimize barriers to justice.
Our work is only possible through the steadfast support of our partners and people like you. With a donation to sustain our work, you can help bring life-changing legal services to New Yorkers most impacted during this challenging time. Thank you for supporting the fight for justice for all.
Warmly,
Lisa Rivera
President and CEO
Jill L. Rosenberg
Chair, Board of Directors
Our Year in Review
Standing Up For the Rights of Immigrants
In the face of constant political attacks, we stood with immigrant communities seeking safety, opportunity, and stability in the United States.
20,000
immigrants represented by NYLAG, including for asylum claims and deportation defense
Supporting Survivors of Violence and Discrimination
We supported survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and workers earning a low wage in asserting their rights and achieving security.
3,000
survivors of domestic violence supported by NYLAG through safety planning, orders of protection, divorce and custody cases, and more
900
workers defended in cases challenging discrimination and illegal retaliation, securing unemployment insurance benefits and wage claims, protecting employees’ rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and more
790
LGBTQ+ clients served
Protecting Economic Rights
We protected the financial security and prosperity of New Yorkers facing deceptive debt collection and financial hardship, and fought alongside veterans and people with disabilities to receive benefits denied to them.
$30M
1,600 consumers defended against predatory debt and lending through NYLAG’s advocacy, granting clients $30 million in relief
$509,000
in life-changing benefits awarded to veterans of the U.S. armed forces through NYLAG’s advocacy
Demanding Safe and Affordable Housing
We were on the front lines defending tenants from eviction, unsafe housing, and homelessness.
7,000
NYLAG represented 7,000 tenants and homeowners who were facing eviction, displacement, or homelessness
Securing Access to Essential Benefits
We secured access to food, health care, and housing for New Yorkers experiencing poverty, elders, immigrants, Holocaust survivors, people with disabilities, and many others.
2,080
clients’ health and safety were improved by accessing health and nutrition benefits, including Medicaid, SNAP, and more
Expanding Legal Access in NYC Communities
We served clients directly in their communities to eliminate barriers to justice.
800
New Yorkers served directly in their communities through our mobile van and community outreach
7,884
clients served through the 34 hospitals and healthcare facilities in which NYLAG attorneys are embedded throughout New York City
Fighting for Systemic Change
We pushed for policy changes and combatted institutional failures that denied New Yorkers their rights.
91,117
beneficiaries from NYLAG’s impact litigation cases and advocacy
Sustaining Partnerships that Change Lives
NYLAG’s work is strengthened by stellar volunteers—including retired and current attorneys, law graduates, and students—whose skills help us to expand our reach to New Yorkers in need of free legal services.
2,200
attorneys and volunteers partnered with NYLAG
87,000+
hours donated to support NYLAG clients
Our Programs
Advance Planning
Assisting individuals with end-of-life planning needs
Consumer Protection
Defending victims of abusive and deceptive lending and debt collection practices to ensure future financial stability
Domestic Violence Law
Empowering survivors of intimate partner violence to achieve safety and stability
Employment Law
Supporting workers earning a low-wage in asserting their workplace rights
Evelyn Frank Legal Resources
Safeguarding the right to affordable health and long-term care services for seniors with low incomes and people with disabilities
Financial Empowerment and Advocacy
Planning for financial stability
Foreclosure Prevention
Preserving affordable homeownership
Holocaust Compensation
Supporting and advocating for survivors of the Holocaust
Immigrant Protection
Keeping immigrants and immigrant communities strong
LegalHealth
Complementing health care with legal care
Legal Hand Project
Addressing problems before they escalate into legal proceedings
LGBTQ Law
Fighting for the rights of LGBTQ communities
Mediation
Helping families in conflict make informed decisions together with the help of a mediator
Mobile Legal Help Center
Bringing free legal services on wheels to your community
Pro Se Clinic
Providing free legal advice to litigants representing themselves in civil cases in SDNY
Public Benefits
Securing vital public benefits to help people meet their immediate needs
Special Education
Ensuring children with disabilities receive an education to which they are entitled and that meets their unique needs
Special Litigation
Seeking systemic reform for individuals through class actions and other impact litigation
Tenants' Rights
Defending tenants experiencing poverty and facing eviction, displacement, and homelessness
Veterans’ Rights
Helping veterans access vital benefits and services
Your Support Helps to Ensure Fair and Equal Access to Justice. Thank you.
We Thank the Law Firms and Corporate Partners Who Graciously Gave Their Time and Talent, and/or Supported NYLAG Financially
| A&O Shearman | AIG Risk Management, Inc | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP | Apple Bank | ArentFox Schiff LLP | Arnold & Porter | Ashurst LLP | Binder & Schwartz LLP |
| Blank Rome LLP | Bloomberg | BNY Mellon | Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP | Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP | Chapman Cutler LLP | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP | Cooley LLP |
| CornerStone Research | Covington & Burling LLP | Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP | Crowell & Moring LLP | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP (Seattle) | Debevoise & Plimpton LLP | Dechert LLP |
| DLA Piper LLP (US) | Duane Morris LLP | EmblemHealth | Fenwick & West | Fieldpoint | Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP | Goldman, Sachs & Co | Goodwin Procter LLP |
| Guggenheim Partners | Hogan Lovells | HOKA | Ingram Yuzek Gainen Carroll & Bertolotti | Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP | Kasirer | KCC LLC | King & Spalding LLP |
| Kirkland & Ellis LLP | Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP | Krieger Kim & Lewin LLP | Kurre Schneps LLP | Latham & Watkins LLP | Levine Lee | Liston Abramson LLP | Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP |
| Mastercard | Milbank LLP | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | Morrison & Foerster Foundation | Morritt Hock | Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP | Paul Hastings LLP |
| Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | Perkins Coie LLP | Petrillo Klein & Boxer LLP | Pfizer | Pierro, Connor & Strauss, LLC | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP | Proskauer Rose LLP | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP |
| Ropes & Gray LLP | Seyfarth Shaw LLP | Sidley Austin LLP | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP | SRD Legal | StoneTurn | Stout Risius Ross, LLC |
| Sullivan & Cromwell LLP | Susman Godfrey L.L.P. | Troutman Pepper LLP | Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz | Walden Macht & Haran LLP | Warshaw Burstein | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP | White & Case LLP |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP | WilmerHale | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati | Winston & Strawn LLP |
We Thank Our Foundation, Nonprofit, and Community Partners
| Altman Foundation | America Works of New York, Inc. | Anonymous | Arab-American Family Support Center | Borchard Foundation Center on Law & Aging | Booth Ferris Foundation | Butler Foundation | Cardinal McCloskey Community Services |
| Capital One | Center for New York City Neighborhoods | City Relief | Claims Conference | Community Service Society of New York | Cornell Law School | DAV Charitable Trust | David Berg Foundation |
| Day One | Dorot | Equal Justice America | Equal Justice Works | Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation | Fedcap | Footsteps | Goodwill Industries of New York & New Jersey |
| Henry & Lucy Moses Fund | Henry Street Settlement | Immigration Advice and Rights Centre | Immigrant Justice Corps | Isaac H. Tuttle Foundation | Jewish Community Center of Greater Coney Island | John Jay College | Justice Catalyst |
| Leon Levy Foundation | Long Island Community Foundation | Marcy Gringlas & Joel Greenberg, Seed the Dream Foundation | Nash Family Foundation | New York Community Trust | New York Immigration Coalition | Research Foundation of CUNY | Robin Hood |
| Safe Horizon | Sanctuary for Families | St. John’s Law School | UJA-Federation of New York | Venable Foundation | Weill Cornell Medicine (NYC Elder Abuse Center) | Y.C. Ho/Helen and Michael Chiang Foundation | Yale Law School |
We Thank Our Government Supporters
| FEDERAL | |
|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women | U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York |
| IOLA |
|---|
| NYS IOLA Fund |
| NEW YORK CITY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection/Office of Financial Empowerment | NYC Department of Veterans Services | NYC Health + Hospitals | NYC Human Resources Administration | NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice/ NYC Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence | NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs | NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission |
| NEW YORK STATE | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYS Attorney General | NYS Department of State | NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services | NYS Department of Health | NYS Office for New Americans | NYS Office for the Aging | NYS Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance | NYS Office of Victim Services | Office of Court Administration |
We Thank Our Community Health Center and Hospital Partners
| Blythedale Children’s Hospital | CancerCare | Community Care of Brooklyn | Maimonides Medical Center |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | MJHS Institute for Innovation | Montefiore Medical Center | Mt. Sinai Medical Legal Partnership |
| NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital | NYU Langone Hospitals | One Brooklyn Health System | Westchester Medical Center |
We Thank the Following Individuals and Family Foundations Who Supported NYLAG With a Gift of $1,000 or More Last Year
| 18220 Fund | Abramson Household | Anders Household | Anderson Household | Ann Law Household | Anonymous Household | Antonelli Household | Baldick Household |
| Banga Household | Bansal Household | Baumgarten Household | Benevity Fund | Berkman-Breen Household | Berman Household | Bharara and Narang Household | Bharara Household |
| Biben Household | Bishop Household | Blaeser Household | Blumberg Household | Bogart and Wein Household | Bremmer Household | Canellos Household | Chazan Household |
| Cheney Household | Chinn Household | Chosky and Cohn Household | Cohen Household | Cohen Levin Household | Coleman Household | Cordova Household | Corratti Household |
| Eatroff Household | Ferguson & Nazareth Household | Finch Household | Fleischer Household | Freeman Household | Froman Family Fund | Furman Household | Genn Household |
| Gilles Household | Girsky Household | Goldberg Household | Goldman Household | Goldstein Household | Goodwin Household | Graff Household | Gray Jr Household |
| Haag Household | Heller Household | Herbert and Ramos-Herbert Household | Hiltzik Household | Horan and Trotter Household | Hunt Household | Jackson Household | Khuzami Household |
| Koeppel Household | Kramer Household | Kubek Household | Levy Household | Lore Household | Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation | Mann Household | Mark Household |
| Martin Household | Mayer Household | McInerney Household | Melamid Household | Meyers Household | Miller Household | Mirvis Household | Molinaro Household |
| Monck Ricigliano Household | Mullady Household | Murphy Household | Musoff Household | Neuhaus Household | Nooyia Household | Oblak Household | O'Connor Household |
| Ortiz Household | Paris Household | Pogrebin and Shapiro Household | Polizzotto Household | Pollin Household | Reid Household | Ringel Household | Rosenberg Household |
| Ross Household | Schachter Household | Schilling Household | Shapiro Household | Shore Household | Stein Household | Steinwurtzel Household | The Liman Foundation |
| The Steptoe Foundation | Truhalft Household | Weissman Household | Wexler Household | Wolfe Household | Wolfensohn Family Foundation | Wong Household | Yates Household |
| Zabel Household |
Financials
Your dollar at work.
2022, Unaudited
Revenue
Category | Dollars |
|---|---|
Government | $31,121,809 |
One Time Small Business Administration Loan Forgiveness | $4,511,474 |
Foundations | $3,939,187 |
Hospitals and Corporations | $4,140,002 |
Individuals | $554,253 |
Special Events | $1,206,750 |
Court Awarded & Earned Fees | $368,373 |
Total Revenue Before In-Kind Legal Services | $45,841,849 |
In Kind | $30,160,820 |
Total Revenue | $76,002,668 |
Expenses
Total Expenses Before In-Kind Legal Services | In-Kind | Total Expenses |
|---|---|---|
$41,750,267 | $30,160,820 | $71,911,086 |
How You Can Support
There are a variety of ways you can support NYLAG’s work:
ONLINE: Visit nylag.org/donate
BY CHECK: Checks may be made payable to New York Legal Assistance Group and sent to:
New York Legal Assistance Group
C/O Development Department
100 Pearl Street, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10004
MORE WAYS TO GIVE: To make a gift by wire transfer, a planned gift, a matching gift, or stock gift please email donate@nylag.org.
GET INVOLVED: To learn about pro bono, internship, and volunteer opportunities, visit nylag.org/pro-bono.
All stats are for fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021-June 20, 2022) unless otherwise noted