New York Legal Assistance Group

Our statement in response to Donald Trump securing a second term as President of the United States:

BREAKING: We've filed a lawsuit against the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. In 2022, New York State passed a law requiring HPD to publish violations in public housing on their online database—which they already do for privately owned buildings. Instead of following the law, HPD keeps NYCHA residents in the dark, preventing them from accessing information that could impact critical housing decisions or their ability to challenge their landlord in court. The lack of transparency also keeps a veil over the reality of building violations throughout the five boroughs, which we know from our clients are heavily concentrated in NYCHA properties. You would never know it from HPD data because they still don't publish it, despite a law that says they must. Read more about our lawsuit and hear from one of the plaintiffs in Gothamist: https://lnkd.in/emCT29bm

Many LGBTQ+ individuals come to the U.S. from countries that consider gender or sexuality outside of a heterosexual and binary framework wrong or even criminal, subjecting them to violence, discrimination, and abuse simply for being themselves. Arriving in the U.S. often lacking legal support, enough money to sustain themselves, or the ability to work, LGBTQ+ immigrants can face a particularly tough uphill battle to build their lives here. NYLAG’s LGBTQ Law and Pro Bono and Volunteer Units partnered with Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC to host an Employment Authorization Document clinic, offering crucial legal assistance to ensure some of these newer New Yorkers could complete the paperwork to secure work authorization. Thanks to this partnership, those who attended this clinic are now one step closer to building safe and dignified lives in New York. #lgbtq #partnership #legalservices #outreach #wearenylag 

A person's ability to afford a private attorney should have no bearing on the quality of their legal services. NYLAG advocates stay at the forefront of our practice areas to make sure that anyone who comes our way for free civil legal services receives them at a top caliber. Members of our Consumer Protection Unit and related practice areas had the opportunity to attend the National Consumer Law Center's 2024 Consumer Rights Litigation Conference & Class Action Symposium in Orlando, participating in discussions on the latest consumer protection developments, trends, and strategies to effectively represent our clients. We're always grateful to collaborate with and learn from esteemed colleagues across the country, and our clients' outcomes are better for it.

Like our colleagues at The Legal Aid Society bringing this important lawsuit, NYLAG’s Special Education Unit also witnesses firsthand the chronic absenteeism students with disabilities face and its impact on them and their families — often as a result of the Department of Education’s failure to meet their needs. A major contributing factor to school avoidance among students with disabilities can include not having reliable busing or other transportation services that accommodate students’ needs, leaving students and their families with few if any options to get them to school despite federal law indicating that school districts must provide those accommodating options. This systemic failure preventing students with disabilities from attending school consistently, exacerbating the challenges they already face, led NYLAG in partnership with Mobilization for Justice, Legal Services NYC, and parent advocates to file a federal civil rights complaint last year in an effort to address this. We are confident this lawsuit from The Legal Aid Society will only strengthen our and all advocates’ momentum to meaningfully address these injustices once and for all. Read more about the lawsuit from Chalkbeat: https://lnkd.in/eFtgKudK + the federal civil rights complaint for busing discrimination against students with disabilities: https://lnkd.in/eUJsp3Rk #specialeducationlaw #accessspecialed #EducationRights #legalservices

Meet Lauren, a dedicated #teamNYLAG member who embodies commitment to NYLAG’s mission. Despite a leg injury preventing her from running in this year’s @nycmarathon, Lauren is still going strong with her fundraising efforts and plans to take on the race next year. She shared: “I’ve been wanting to run the NYC marathon since I moved to NY from Kansas City for law school in 2018. I’ve now had the privilege of working with NYLAG on a couple matters through my firm and can appreciate how vital NYLAG’s work is for New Yorkers. Although I unfortunately injured my leg during training, I’m continuing my fundraising efforts and plan to run on behalf of NYLAG next year!” We wish Lauren a speedy recovery.  + show your support with a donation today: https://lnkd.in/et_rTANm   #weareNYLAG 

#WhoDefinesSurvival: Survivors are the true experts in defining what safety, autonomy, and justice look like for themselves. As Domestic Violence Awareness Month ends, hear from NYLAG President & CEO Lisa Rivera what survivor-centered justice means to her as a longtime advocate, and what it means to all of us at NYLAG as we continue our work with survivors across our organization: https://lnkd.in/eWygc5yQ + support NYLAG’s trauma-informed advocacy work with a donation so we can continue forging a path for survivor-centered justice: https://lnkd.in/edwzv-Yp #survivorcentered #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth #intimatepartnerviolence #weareNYLAG #domesticviolence 

Meet Gerard, another dedicated member of #teamNYLAG, who will be running in the TCS NYC Marathon on Nov. 3rd to support NYLAG’s mission. When asked what inspired him to participate, he shared: “It’s an honor to be able to run the NYC marathon and help New Yorkers in need of vital legal services.” Join us in cheering Gerard on as he runs the marathon! Show your support for #teamNYLAG with a donation today: https://lnkd.in/ep7cUXx2 

Whether you’re managing student loans, working to improve your credit score, or reducing debt, our financial counselors can assist you with a personalized action plan to improve your credit and work toward becoming debt-free! Join NYLAG’s Financial Empowerment and Advocacy Unit and the Office of Financial Empowerment at New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for an in-person clinic to: 💰review your credit score  💰 increase your credit score  💰 manage student loans + more Register today: https://lnkd.in/eiKMpvBA 

NEW: Student loans pose a significant burden for borrowers across the United States, especially for those already facing racial and therefore economic inequities and injustices. Defaulting on those loans can have serious negative consequences for borrowers, but a small subset of borrowers has an even worse problem: The government files a lawsuit against them and obtains a judgment forcing them to pay back the money. NYLAG's Consumer Protection and Special Litigation Units wanted to know — to whom does the government issue judgments most? We finally got the data — after filing a lawsuit against the Department of Education for failing to respond to our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request — and it paints a stark, albeit unsurprising picture of extreme racial and economic disparities, revealing a high concentration of student loan judgments in majority-Black neighborhoods across the country. Now, we're making the data public: https://lnkd.in/ePesqHTf