irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024
What they reported doing
- #1 primary $14.22MTENANT'S RIGHTS- PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR FULL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
- #2 $11.03MIMMIGRANT PROTECTION- PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR FULL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
named programs · 18 · from sources
What they call their work
Advance Planning
Helps clients with limited means plan for incapacity or death through wills, powers of attorney, health care proxies, and alternatives to guardianship.
Consumer Protection Project
Defends victims of abusive lending and debt collection practices and provides financial counseling.
Domestic Violence Law
Provides legal representation in orders of protection, custody, divorce, and immigration matters for survivors of intimate partner violence.
Employment Law
Supports low-wage workers in asserting workplace rights, including wage theft and discrimination claims.
Evelyn Frank Legal Resources
Secures access to affordable health and long-term care services for seniors and people with disabilities.
Financial Counseling Division
Offers financial counseling to promote stability, the only non-legal service unit at NYLAG.
Foreclosure Prevention
Helps homeowners avoid displacement through legal and financial interventions.
Holocaust Compensation Project
Supports and advocates for survivors of the Holocaust in obtaining reparations and benefits.
Immigrant Protection
Provides comprehensive legal services to immigrants, including asylum, deportation defense, and family-based petitions.
Impact Litigation
Conducts class actions and systemic litigation to reform unjust policies and practices.
LGBTQ Law
Advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, including name changes, discrimination, and family law.
LegalHand Project
Provides early legal intervention via text and chat to prevent minor issues from becoming legal crises.
LegalHealth
Medical-legal partnership placing attorneys in hospitals to address legal needs affecting health, now in 37 facilities.
Mediation
Offers mediation services for families in conflict, particularly in divorce and custody cases.
Mobile Legal Help Center
Brings free legal services directly to underserved communities via a mobile office.
Public Benefits
Helps clients secure vital benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, and public assistance.
Special Education
Ensures children with disabilities receive appropriate educational services.
Tenants Rights
Defends tenants facing eviction and displacement, particularly in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
activities · 11 groups
What they do
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Pro Bono Legal Representation and Support 4 activities
- Mobilizing pro bono legal resourcesRecruits and engages volunteer and pro bono attorneys to expand legal services for underserved populations, including through innovative clinics and partnerships with law firms.
- Operating medical-legal partnershipsIntegrates legal services into healthcare settings through initiatives like LegalHealth, the largest medical-legal partnership in the U.S., to address legal issues affecting patient health. Provides on-site legal assistance in hospitals and trains healthcare professionals to identify legal needs.
- Providing direct civil legal services to low-income individualsDelivers free legal representation to over 127,000 individuals annually across New York City through more than 200 community sites, including courts, hospitals, libraries, and a Mobile Legal Help Center. Services cover housing, immigration, consumer protection, public benefits, family law, and other civil legal needs for low-income residents.
- Securing financial relief and defending against predatory lendingDefends consumers against abusive debt collection, predatory lending, and loan scams; provides bankruptcy representation; and secures financial relief. Secured $269 million in total financial relief for clients, including $66 million for 3,450 consumers and $8 million for victims of predatory lending.
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Immigrant Rights Advocacy & Policy Reform 2 activities
- Advancing policy reform and systemic changeEngages in advocacy to identify and dismantle systemic barriers, including codrafting Standby Guardianship law for immigrant parents and pushing for local and federal policy changes to promote financial stability, immigrant rights, and disability access.
- Conducting impact litigation and systemic advocacyFiles class action lawsuits and impact litigation to achieve broad legal reforms, including landmark cases affirming Medicaid eligibility for immigrants (Aliessa v. Novello), securing Access-a-Ride access for children with disabilities (Obregon v. MTA), and improving NYCHA elevator maintenance (Brito v. NYCHA).
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Medicare Counseling and Assistance 1 activity
- Building capacity through training and technical assistanceProvides training and technical assistance to thousands of legal, healthcare, and social service professionals on Medicaid/Medicare policy, medical-legal integration, and client advocacy. Offers national support for embedding legal services in healthcare systems.
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Worker Rights Advocacy & Wage Protection 1 activity
- Defending workers’ rightsRepresents low-wage workers in cases involving employment discrimination, illegal retaliation, wage theft, and workplace sexual harassment. Was among the first organizations funded by the #TimesUp Legal Defense Fund to serve low-wage workers facing harassment.
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Public Benefits Navigation and Enrollment 1 activity
- Expanding access to public benefits and healthcareHelps low-income seniors, people with disabilities, and families secure Medicaid, Medicare, Managed Long-Term Care, and other public benefits. Secured $7.6 million in annual public benefits, $3.5 million in education benefits, and $1.7 million in long-term care services for clients.
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Financial Coaching and Credit Counseling 1 activity
- Offering financial counseling and empowerment servicesProvides direct financial counseling on budgeting, debt management, credit reporting, and public benefits, and delivers workshops to help clients achieve financial stability. Helped 2,600 clients save or eliminate $17,000 in debt.
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Tenant Legal Advocacy & Support Services 1 activity
- Preventing eviction and preserving affordable housingProvides legal representation to tenants and homeowners facing eviction, displacement, or foreclosure, including under New York City’s Right to Counsel program in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Represented 11,472 tenants and homeowners in one year, helping them remain in their homes.
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Advance Care Planning Support 1 activity
- Providing estate and life planning legal servicesAssists adults with preparing wills, powers of attorney, health care proxies, and living wills, and supports families with probate and Surrogate’s Court proceedings to manage property distribution after death.
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Immigration Legal Services 1 activity
- Providing immigration legal servicesServes over 51,800 immigrants annually, including asylum seekers, detained individuals, and children, through deportation defense, family reunification, TPS applications, and representation in removal proceedings. Assumed thousands of cases from HIAS and NYANA after their closures and responded to ICE detention surges through the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative.
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Domestic Violence Survivor Support Services 1 activity
- Supporting survivors of intimate partner violenceProvides legal representation to survivors of domestic violence in matters including orders of protection, divorce, custody, and safety planning. Served over 3,400 survivors in one year, with specialized support integrated into health care settings.
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Uncategorized 1 activity
- Conducting research on healthcare financing and accessLaunched the Managed Long-Term Care Data Transparency Project to publicly report spending data by Medicaid Managed Long-Term Care plans in New York State, promoting accountability and informed policy decisions.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$60.80M
Contributions & grants$59.26M97%
Program service revenue$1.34M2%
Investment income$202K0%
Other revenue$6K
expenses
Total expenses$57.41M
Program expenses89%
Admin / overhead9%
Fundraising2%
Salaries & benefits$47.94M
Grants paid out$2.33M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$93.68M
Cash$2.34M
Investments$7.64M
Liabilities$68.51M
Net assets$25.18M
Liquid reserves2.1 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +13.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 10
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| LISA RIVERA | PRESIDENT & CEO | 40 | $299K |
| ALISON LAVAN | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | 40 | $257K |
| SARA MEYERS | CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | 40 | $257K |
| RANDAL S JEFFREY | GENERAL COUNSEL | 40 | $237K |
| JILL ELIZABETH MAXWELL | VICE PRESIDENT | 40 | $225K |
| COURTNEY BALL | CHIEF DIVERSITY AND PEOPLE | 40 | $208K |
| SHANA ADESS | VICE PRESIDENT | 40 | $205K |
| RANDYE RETKIN | DIRECTOR | 40 | $204K |
| EMILY WARD | DIR, INSTITUTIONAL GIVING & GOVT | 40 | $183K |
| MELISSA LIM CHUA | DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRANT PROTECTION | 40 | $155K |
board members · 15
- ANIRUDH BANSAL ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- BOYD JOHNSON ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- BRIDGET M HEALY ESQ — CHAIR
- CAROLINE ZALKA ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- CAROLYN RENZIN ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- ELKAN ABRAMOWITZ ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- JAMES E BRANDT ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- JEFFREY HERBERT ESQ — VICE CHAIR & SECRETARY
- JESSICA ORTIZ ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- JILL L ROSENBERG ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- JOSEPH BAUMGARTEN ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- JOSEPH POLIZZOTTO ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- KERRI ANN LAW ESQ — TREASURER
- KEVIN SCHWARTZ ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
- MATTHEW BIBEN ESQ — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 34
Who they work with
- Andrea Partner — Client story featured to illustrate impact on children with disabilities.
- Ericka Partner — Client story featured to illustrate impact on cancer survivors.
- Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Partner — Collaborates to safeguard access to affordable health and long-term care services for low-income seniors and people with disabilities
- Fenwick & West LLP Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Fried Frank Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Gibson Dunn Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Greenberg Traurig Partner — Co-drafted the Standby Guardianship law with NYLAG as a pro bono partner.
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Partner — Assumed all local immigration legal services after HIAS closed its legal division.
- Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Hospitals Partner — Collaborates with hospitals to deliver legal services to patients in need.
- ICAN Network — EFLRP is part of ICAN, the New York State Ombudsprogram that assists New Yorkers with enrollment in and use of managed long term care plans.
- Jenner & Block LLP Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Kaplan Martin Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Latham & Watkins LLP Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Libraries Partner — Works with libraries to offer legal services at community-accessible locations.
- Listiel Partner — Client story featured to illustrate impact on veterans and their families.
- Maximo Partner — Client story featured to illustrate impact on immigrant parents.
- NYLAG’s Consumer Protection Unit Network — Unit within NYLAG providing legal resources and guides for consumer rights
- National Women's Law Center Funder — Provided funding through the #TimesUp Legal Defense Fund for NYLAG to assist low-wage workers with workplace sexual harassment cases.
- Neighborhood organizations Partner — Collaborates with local neighborhood organizations to reach underserved communities.
- New York Government — Provides financial empowerment services to communities across New York, indicating alignment with state and local public service goals.
- New York Association for New Americans Partner — Assumed approximately 3,300 immigration cases when NYANA prepared to close its legal services.
- New York Bar Foundation Funder — Provided a grant that partially supported the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program.
- New York City Government — Partner in the implementation of the Right to Counsel program for tenants facing eviction.
- New York City Government — Partnered in the creation of the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative to represent immigrants detained by ICE.
- New York State Government — Partnered in the creation of the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative to represent immigrants detained by ICE.
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
- Ropes & Gray Partner — Hosts members of NYLAG's Pro Bono Advisory Board
+ 4 more
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Anti-Racist Legal Practice Frameworkmethodology: anti-racist_legal_servicesBy actively confronting structural racism in service delivery and organizational practices, the organization increases equity and effectiveness because anti-racist frameworks ensure legal assistance is culturally competent and responsive to racially marginalized communities.
- Early Intervention and Preventive Legal Servicesmethodology: early-intervention_legal_servicesBy providing early legal intervention, the organization prevents escalation of legal problems into formal cases because timely support reduces system burden and improves client outcomes through proactive resolution.
- Medical-Legal Partnership Modelmethodology: medical-legal_partnershipBy integrating legal services into healthcare settings, the organization addresses social determinants of health because legal issues such as housing, immigration, and public benefits directly impact health outcomes. This co-located, cross-sector model enables early identification of legal needs and improves health equity through coordinated care.
- Systemic Advocacy to Address Root Causes of Injusticemethodology: systems_change_advocacyBy combining impact litigation, policy advocacy, and public education, the organization creates broader social change because addressing laws, institutional policies, and structural inequities produces durable improvements beyond individual cases.
- Trauma-Informed, Client-Centered Legal Representationmethodology: trauma-informed_representationBy using trauma-informed and client-centered approaches, the organization improves safety and stability for survivors of intimate partner violence because recognizing psychological trauma enhances trust, engagement, and legal outcomes.