Legal Services NYC Overview of Achievements, 2012-2013 Results for Low-Income New Yorkers: LS- NYC provided direct legal assistance that benefited more than 42,200 low-income people in over 17,072 individual cases. Our systemic litigation and advocacy helped tens of thousands more. We obtained over $9,854,352 in retroactive benefits and $8,078,220 per year in ongoing benefits. We estimate that our work saved taxpayers in excess of $78,574,572. Significant New Programs: Immediately after Hurricane Sandy, LS-NYC began working on the ground in affected communities, opening more than 2729 cases to date for storm victims. We obtained emergency housing, challenged improper FEMA denials, navigated insurance claims, accessed income benefits, and resolved housing problems. We helped thousands of additional families through outreach, education and more than 180 community-based legal clinics. We also trained community groups, social services staff, pro bono lawyers and law students, many of whom worked closely with us to help devastated families. In partnership with clients and community leaders, we advocated for immediate and long-term policy changes to improve disaster-response for low-income people. A Stronger Organization: LS-NYC unified our five Brooklyn programs into one. This streamlining achieved two important objectives: we enhanced client service by making comprehensive civil legal services available borough-wide and we eliminated 10 duplicative management positions, redirecting those resources into front-line services for clients. As the formal merger process is completed, our staff of approximately 85 people is now working together to provide robust and coordinated assistance throughout the borough. Bronx New York St aten Island Kings Queens This Provider At a Glance Population Served: General Low Income Population Area Served: New York City Metropolitan Area Total Funding: $46,230,509 Total IOLA Grant: $3,360,000 Staffing - Full Time Equivalents Total Staff: 285.96 Lawyers: 149.95 Paralegals: 56.80 Other Staff: 79.21 Types of Services Provided Direct Civil Legal Representation Brief Services Extended Services Hotlines and Other Phone-Based Services Technology and Other Innovations Community Legal Education Pro Se Assistance Collaborations With Other Service Providers Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects Legal Services NYC - 1
Outcomes 42,200 Individuals Benefited from 17,072 Closed Direct Civil Legal Cases Extended Representation Outcomes 3,987 People prevented eviction from private housing 1,678 People obtained, preserved, or increased public assistance, TANF, or other welfare benefit/right 1,170 People avoided or delayed foreclosure or other loss of home 579 People obtained, preserved, or increased SSI benefits/rights 6,126 People obtained benefits from other "extended representation" Brief Representation Benefits 25,678 People benefited from legal advice and counsel 2,153 People benefited from non-litigation advocacy services 829 People benefited by referral to other sources of help Dollar Benefits Achieved for Clients - Total $30,587,400 Social Security, SSI Benefits: $22,580,606 Other Federal Benefits: $2,317,287 Unemployment Compensation: $3,496,878 Family Law - Child Support: $889,288 Family Law - Maintenance/Spousal Support: $403,440 Affirmative Judgments: $830,162 Other Benefits: $69,739 Total includes back awards and total monthly benefits, estimated over 6 months (unemployment compensation), 12 months (other federal benefits, affirmative judgements and other benefits), 60 months (Social Security, SSI) or 120 months (child and spousal support). Examples... Outcomes for Clients Mr. O is a distinguished veteran who served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan during his 11 years in the United States Marine Corps. On Christmas Eve, he got a very troubling letter from his employer: Mr. O s wages would be garnished to pay an outstanding judgment. Since Mr. O did not owe money to anyone and had no knowledge of a lawsuit, this was shocking news. After investigating, Mr. O learned that he had been sued in 2000 while serving overseas. The lawsuit was for a credit card debt he never accrued. It was filed in the Bronx, where he has never lived. Mr. O was given no notice of the lawsuit. The lawsuit violated the very federal legal protections designed to protect active duty military personnel in situations like Mr. O s. Nonetheless, a judgment for thousands of dollars was entered against him. Although Mr. O tried to explain the situation to the Marshal, the Court and his employer, money was taken repeatedly from his pay. When Mr. O learned about the Veteran's Justice Project he contacted us right away. We intervened immediately and were successful in stopping the garnishment, having the case dismissed, and getting Mr. O s money returned to him. In addition, we secured the plaintiff's agreement that it would never bring another suit against Mr. O in the future. Examples continued on last page Breakdown of Cases by Legal Problem Area People Cases Total 42,200 17,072 Housing 19,945 7,274 Income Maintenance 9,493 4,376 Family 6,540 2,515 Individual Rights 1,935 770 Other 4,287 2,137 Legal Services NYC - 2 Income Maintenance 26% Housing 43% Family 15% Individual Rights 4% Other 12%
Other Services Hotlines and Other Telephone Based Legal Services Legal Services NYC offices throughout the City staff hotlines for advice and brief services in housing, family law, bankruptcy and general consumer law, public benefits, SSI, elder law, pension, education and financial justice. We also have hotlines to ensure access for special populations. For example, LS-NYC operates a veterans hotline, a language access hotline and a Hurricane Sandy hotline. The target population for LS-NYC hotlines is low-income residents of all five boroughs in New York City. Hotline work is thoroughly integrated into our regular intake system. Attorneys or paralegals staff the hotlines, conduct intake, and provide referrals, advice or brief service, or schedule appointments for extended services. The hotline system provides the opportunity to screen matters and determine the most efficient use of limited program resources. They also allow us to provide assistance to many more clients. Technology and Other Innovations LS-NYC uses technology to improve the delivery of legal services, improve client access and advance overall program administration. Examples of significant improvements in our use of technology and communications during the reporting period include the following: 1) implementation of the first two phases of LegalServer, a robust case and enterprise management system, which provides fully integrated, web-based, case management for attorneys and paralegals. During the current (third) phase of the system implementation, the system will also improve supervision, cocounseling, and pro bono involvement; and, 2) use of our advance Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Telephone to setup a citywide Hurricane Sandy assistance line that has been tremendously helpful in reaching many residents with disasterrelated legal needs. Collaborations With Other Service Providers One of LS-NYC s core principles is that collaborations are essential to serving the legal needs of low-income New York City residents. We have developed hundreds of partnerships with legal services providers, private bar organizations, community based organizations, elected officials, the court system, and virtually every other poverty -advocacy group in the City. All of our offices and all of our practice areas engage in these collaborations. In just a very few examples, LS- NYC: serves as the Center for New York City Neighborhoods Legal Services Program Partner, providing citywide foreclosure prevention support and coordination to 16 partners; recently began collaborating with OCA and eight minority bar associations to help deliver pro bono services in uncontested matrimonial proceedings; has a lead role in the Partnership to Preserve Affordable Housing, which includes the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, the Tenants and Neighbors Coalition, Pratt Area Community Council and The Legal Aid Society (LAS); is a founder and host agency of the Upper Manhattan Domestic Services Collaborative, a partnership of 11 community-based health, social, legal services and law enforcement agencies dedicated to providing interdisciplinary assistance to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking; founded the Staten Island Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, a task force of attorneys and housing counselors serving Staten Island residents, to strengthen collaboration and information sharing between the attorneys and the counselors; is part of the Community Partnership Initiatives (CPIs) in Mott Haven and Highbridge. The CPIs are comprised of more than 40 social service providers, schools and medical Number of People Benefited by Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation Total: 296,911 People Community Legal Education: 42,727 People Pro Se Assistance: 32,420 People Web Usage: 215,898 People Legal Hotline Services: 5,866 People Legal Services NYC - 3
Other Services, continued providers who work together to avert the consequences of abuse and neglect proceedings; conducted homeowner clinics in the wake of Hurricane Sandy with Rockaways and Queens community partners Chhaya, Safe Space and interfaith organizations; played a lead role in developing a citywide law student school suspension-representation project. Our staff trains law students at CUNY, NYU, Fordham, and Brooklyn Law to represent students threatened with school suspension and termination; belongs to the Manhattan HIV Care Network and provides outreach, training and off-site intake to the Momentum Project, Iris House, Bailey House, AIDS Service Center NYC, the William F. Ryan Community Health Center, and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center; and is a leader in the Partnership to Preserve Affordable Housing, which includes the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, the Tenants and Neighbors Coalition, Pratt Area Community Council and LAS. Backup or Support Services We provide extensive back up and support services, including: Continuing Legal Education Program for Legal Services, Pro Bono and Public Interest Lawyers LS-NYC runs the largest and most comprehensive state accredited CLE poverty law training program in the country. Each year, we present 50 100 classes for as many as 2,500 public interest and pro bono attorneys from hundreds of organizations throughout New York City and State, as well as our own staff. Our classes cover substantive law, practice skills, and ethics. Leadership to the Non-Profit Foreclosure Defense Community LS-NYC, which operates the largest foreclosure prevention practice in the nation, provides ongoing leadership and extensive technical support to New York City s foreclosure prevention bar. The Legal Support Unit Legal Services NYC s Legal Support Unit (LSU) provides leadership and support services to public interest lawyers and advocates at LS-NYC and for other poverty law programs throughout the City and State. Language Access Project Legal Services NYC s Language Access Project provides help to increase service providers capacity to provide the highest quality multi-lingual legal services. Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects Solla v. Berlin In Solla, a public benefits case, the Appellate Division, 1st Dept. reversed two prior decisions and held that prevailing parties can collect legal fees under the catalyst theory pursuant to New York s Equal Access to Justice Act. By encouraging private lawyers to take public benefits cases, Solla could result in help for hundreds of additional low-income families. Sources of Funding Total $46,230,509 IOLA Grant $3,360,000 Legal Services Corp (LSC) $12,808,005 State Funding $8,666,880 City and County Funding $7,591,316 Other Federal Programs $6,143,004 Other $7,661,304 Other Federal Programs 13% Other 17% City and County Funding 16% IOLA Grant 7% Legal Services Corp (LSC) 28% State Funding 19% Legal Services NYC - 4
Other Services, continued Pro Bono Volunteer Involvement We close approximately 1,000 individual pro bono cases annually. Pro bono attorneys also cocounsel with us on litigation that produces results for large numbers of low-income people. During this reporting period, pro bono lawyers, law students and volunteers have been deeply involved in our Hurricane Sandy relief work. In the last several years, we have increased our pro bono outreach significantly, strengthening ties with the private bar and creating new projects that offer opportunities for private attorneys to provide important pro bono services. As a result, LS-NYC has experienced sizable increases in pro bono services and involvement. Currently, more than 1,500 pro bono attorneys provide services in partnership with LS-NYC. Our Bankruptcy Assistance Project alone relies on over 200 pro bono attorneys. Our pro bono partnerships mean thousands of additional low-income New Yorkers are served. Hurricane Sandy Assistance: Pro bono lawyers, law students and volunteers have been a vital part of LS-NYC s disaster relief work. For example, in collaboration with the City Bar Justice Center and ProBonoNet we helped organize and participated in pro bono training on Sandy Disaster Assistance: FEMA Appeals and Private Insurance. Hundreds of attorneys attended this training and the program was both live-streamed and taped and available online as an important resource in the Sandy relief effort. Likewise, attorneys from our Manhattan office served as consultants to ProBonoNet in developing the Pro Bono Statistics During 2012-2013, the following volunteers provided services in our program: Attorneys: 437 Volunteers 21,333 Hours Law Students: 250 Volunteers 47,638 Hours Other Volunteers: 67 Volunteers 3,183 Hours Total Cases Completed by Attorneys: 922 Cases Dollar Value of Attorney Services*: $5.33 million *estimated at $250 per hour FEMA Appeal document template now available on Pro Bono Net. Over 100 pro bono volunteers participated in staffing our communitybased outreach and legal clinics. In January, approximately 75 student volunteers assisted LS- NYC with a canvassing project to more comprehensively assess the needs of New York City communities struggling to recover. Approximately 30 more law students came to New York during their spring breaks to volunteer in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island with our disaster relief efforts and assisted more than 75 families. Outcomes for Clients continued from page 2 Mr. H was a delivery man for a supermarket that advertises free delivery services. He bagged groceries and made deliveries, but was never paid an hourly wage in the six years he worked there. Mr. H s sole compensation was tips from his low-income customers who sometimes tipped him with food stamps. We filed a complaint with the Department of Labor (DoL) and fought for six years to obtain Mr. H s unpaid wages. Finally, Mr. H was awarded more than $110,000. This victory helped not only Mr. H but also several of his coworkers. As the result of our advocacy, DoL investigated the employer and subsequently awarded more than $112,000 in unpaid wages and interest to four other deliverymen who had been denied pay. Additionally, the investigation and decision prospectively changed the practices of the entire company. Legal Services NYC - 5