The Legal Aid Society

The Legal Aid Society is proud to announce that Dalourny Nemorin, an attorney with our Criminal Appeals Bureau, has been selected for the prestigious Obama Foundation Leaders program. Dalourny is one of 100 leaders across the country chosen to participate in this program, which focuses on leadership development and civic engagement. As a Bronx resident and child of immigrants, Dalourny passionately advocates for marginalized communities through her work on direct appeals and post-conviction proceedings. She also serves as the committee chairperson of policies, bylaws, and legislation for the Bronx Community Board. Through this six-month program, Dalourny will engage with global thought leaders and mentors to strengthen her advocacy both inside and outside the courtroom. Her selection highlights her commitment to defending clients on both individual and systemic levels, and Legal Aid is proud to see her work recognized by the Obama Foundation. The Obama Foundation Leaders program is designed to further inspire, empower, and connect emerging leaders from Africa, AsiaPacific, Europe, and the United States to change their respective communities and the world.

This past Saturday, The Legal Aid Society’s Harlem Community Law Office hosted the inaugural East Harlem Law Day at Dream Charter School. Our passionate team of legal advocates connected with community members to provide crucial information on housing, immigration, education, public benefits, and more. We were honored to hear firsthand how Legal Aid has impacted the lives of East Harlem residents! Thank you to everyone who came out on a rainy day—including Adriene Holder, Chief Attorney of our Civil Practice. Members of Legal Aid's Harlem team were joined by Civil and Community Justice Unit representatives for the event. A special thank you to our political partners for their support: Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, Chair of Manhattan Community Board 11 Xavier Santiago, Manhattan Borough President Mark D. Levine, Assembly Member Edward Gibbs, and State Senator José M. Serrano. Your sponsorship and commitment to our community help ensure we can continue serving New Yorkers in need!

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Last night, in collaboration with The Interfaith Center of New York, The Legal Aid Society, and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, NYDIS hosted a Migrant Services Coordination Summit for asylee services providers and advocates. We were joined by 137 participants from 75 organizations across New York City. Folks engaged in a resources exchange session to identify unmet needs and identify partners that can leverage resources. The event concluded with a presentation on current policy and challenges from the Legal Aid Society. Shout out to St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church for their hospitality.

Yesterday, The Legal Aid Society was deeply honored to receive the inaugural Epstein Award, recognizing the outstanding work of our Exploitation Intervention Project (EIP). Our heartfelt thanks to A&O Shearman for hosting the event and to Amy Epstein and her family for establishing these important awards. The EIP team works tirelessly to minimize the harm experienced by criminalized survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence, helping them reclaim their lives and futures. "Inaugurating these awards by honoring the remarkable work of the Exploitation Intervention Project is a privilege. My husband, a long-time Legal Aid board member, would have been extremely proud of the Project. Since 2011, EIP has improved thousands of lives. Its mission to advocate for the most vulnerable among us in New York City is truly extraordinary." - Amy Epstein "We are honored to be recognized and thankful to the Epstein family for launching this award. We look forward to continuing the work that we love." - Leigh Latimer, Exploitation Intervention Project.

Thank you to Robin Hood for awarding Legal Aid a $100,000 grant for our breakthrough AI solution to fight poverty in NYC. And thank you for making us a finalist for the ultimate $1,000,000 prize. "This grant will be instrumental as we develop and scale similar AI-powered tools to serve our clients facing issues not only in housing, but immigration, employment, government benefits, and more," Adriene Holder, chief attorney, Civil Practice, Legal Aid. Learn about our new AI Housing Justice tool here: https://lnkd.in/e4CJZdRD

Join us in congratulating The Legal Aid Society’s Education Law Project (ELP) for receiving a $7,200 award from the New York Bar Foundation for the Expanding Access to Education for Low-Income New Yorkers Project in 2024! With this funding, ELP has attended a national conference to better inform their advocacy efforts; developed and presented internal trainings for LAS staff to identify and support clients with education law issues; and created Know Your Rights materials that are now on our website and distributed to clients - ensuring that New Yorkers have access to critical information to receive the assistance they need. The Know Your Rights resources are aimed at empowering communities and providing low-income families the tools they need to navigate the educational system and secure vital support services. We extend our sincere thanks to the New York Bar Foundation for supporting our mission to promote educational equity. Congratulations to the ELP for their continued dedication and hard work in expanding access to education for all New Yorkers! Learn more about the resources offered by our Education Law Project here: https://lnkd.in/eEwEiZu9

Legal Aid is suing five solar panel companies for targeting seniors and people of color with deceptive business practices. “Mrs. Campbell is just one victim of many across New York and the country of a solar panel industry that uses misleading advertisements and misrepresentations about lower electricity bills and instead unknowingly saddle people into unaffordable loans,” Jennifer Levy, attorney, Foreclosure Prevention Unit, Legal Aid. It’s reminiscent of the subprime mortgage crisis which ultimately brought down our economy. We’re taking action: https://lnkd.in/ex7VENe5

The 2024 Associates’ Campaign raised an impressive $385K from over 1,000 individuals from 25 firms to support our vital work on behalf of low-income New Yorkers. Last week, we celebrated this year’s campaign with firm captains, participants, New Leadership Program Board members, and Legal Aid staff at City Winery. The night provided everyone an opportunity to celebrate and learn more about Legal Aid’s work while top firms were given awards.  Thank you to all the firms who participated in this year’s campaign, and we look forward to building on this success next year.  View the full list of award winners and participating firms here: https://lnkd.in/eTKf3uv9  

What does justice look like to you? To us, it looks like a city full of community resources. That’s why Legal Aid is proud to announce ‘Do NYC Justice,’ our new 5-borough community resource guide. Whether you are looking for housing help, violence prevention/intervention programs, job training, mental health services, youth programs and more, ‘Do NYC Justice’ has got your back. Thank you to the amazing Kettle team for your creative collaboration. Check out ‘Do NYC Justice’ here: legalaidnyc.org/justice.