Blog

As students head back to school this fall, we know that education will look very different this year. Many schools are prioritizing the curriculum to determine which subjects are crucial in this pandemic era, and which can be postponed or eliminated. For many law students, classes are online. Given the collective trauma that our society has faced this year, one subject is proving vital for law school education: cultural competency. What is cultural competency and why is it necessary?

Because of the pandemic, people are turning online more than ever to look for information and resources to resolve their legal problems. The newly created COVID-19 resource page has quickly become one of the top accessed pages on LawHelpNY. Chats on LiveHelp have increased by 50% following the state of emergency declared in mid-March.

How can we work better together, leverage institutional knowledge and expertise, and foster meaningful relationships to more effectively pursue our mission of serving communities in need and addressing the access to justice gap? One way is increasing our productivity and community engagement by using communication tools to share and collaborate. This is especially important when working with a distributed team as more organizations provide the opportunity for staff to work remotely.

In June of 2019, the New York State Legislature passed a series of rent laws that offer new protections for New York City renters. While these new rent laws offer much needed support for renters across the city, tenant harassment and bad conditions continue to affect thousands of New Yorkers every year.

LawHelpNY is proud to announce a new series of resources designed to help public housing tenants in New York City successfully get repairs from NYCHA, the city's public housing authority.The resources, developed in partnership with Housing Court Answers, offer practical advice on how to effectively exercise one's right to a home in good condition, including the best way to ask for repairs and, if necessary, how to open a case in housing court.

LawHelpNY and the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program are excited to announce an important new service to New Yorkers navigating the Family Court system. The organizations have partnered to provide help via LiveHelp, a live chat program run by LawHelpNY, to visitors on the Families and Children pages of CourtHelp (www.nycourthelp.gov), the New York State Unified Court System’s website for unrepresented litigants.

“If you pay this fee, you’re guaranteed a place in the Diversity Immigrant Visa program!” “You can have this form for $20.” “Under DACA, you’re eligible for these services.” “If you don’t pay $300 immediately, you will be deported.” Don’t be fooled by immigration scams!

LawHelpNY.org is excited to announce the launch of its New York City Housing Mini-Portal.

Currently, there is no right to legal counsel for immigrants, including people seeking asylum and families with children and those who cannot afford an attorney find themselves navigating the court system alone.In response, The Legal Aid Society and our legal services partners formed the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), an innovative project providing free legal counsel for every detained immigrant who appears at the Varick Street Immigration Court in Manhattan.

The NYC Pro Bono Center proudly features Joan Archer, as our October volunteer spotlight, and thanks LiveHelp coordinator, Michelle Born, for sharing this story.“Joan saves the day!”This was a frequent phrase in my emails to Joan Archer over the course of the last year. As LiveHelp Coordinator at LawHelpNY, I work with dozens of law student and law graduate volunteers at any given point in time.