Legal Services NYC

We’ve been providing civil legal services to low-income New Yorkers since 1968. Today, we’re the largest provider in the U.S., helping over 112,000 clients each year from our 12 offices across all five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

We offer free legal help with housing (like eviction prevention and foreclosure defense), family law, benefits, consumer issues, education, immigration, and bankruptcy. We also support community economic development by tackling predatory lending and deed theft, and provide transactional services for low-income co-ops, small businesses, and non-profits.

To strengthen our advocacy, we partner with community groups, elected officials, public agencies, pro bono lawyers, and the courts. Our intake hotline is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and we offer services in many languages.

Our mission is to fight poverty and pursue racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. We challenge systemic injustices that keep people in poverty, helping clients get essential necessities like housing, economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care.

We are deeply rooted in our communities, taking a holistic and trauma-informed approach to advocacy. We engage creatively and strategically with our clients, aiming for equal opportunity for all low-income New Yorkers and treating everyone with compassion, dignity, and respect.

With over 700 staff members, we are dedicated to creating a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and motivated. Our team members come from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, reflecting the communities we serve.

Our culture is highly collaborative, focusing on client needs through a community-lawyering model and a holistic, trauma-informed approach to advocacy. We provide guidance, supervision, and support, encouraging continuous improvement and professional development. We work in a fast-paced, community-focused setting, and many positions offer a hybrid work model.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including competitive salaries, union representation for all non-managerial staff, and professional growth opportunities.

Our benefits include:

• Healthcare: Excellent healthcare with low annual contributions (1% of salary), generous dental insurance, and a vision plan.
• Time Off: 21 vacation days in your first year (growing to 28 days annually), plus 18 sick days, 7 personal days, and 14 paid holidays.
• Family Support: Six months of parental leave, and financial assistance for adoption, surrogacy, infertility treatments, and gender-affirming care.
• Financial Well-being: A Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program and an employer-contributed 403(b) retirement plan.
• Work Flexibility: Many roles qualify for a hybrid work arrangement, allowing up to 50% remote work.