Adriene Holder, Chief Attorney, Civil Practice

The Legal Aid Society

Remarks for the Chief Judge’s Civil Legal Services Hearing

September 16, 2024

Good afternoon, I am Adriene Holder, Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice of The Legal Aid Society. I also serve as a member of the Permanent Commission on Access to Justice and as a board member for the New York Legal Services Coalition. I first want to thank Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson; Presiding Justices Dianne T. Renwick, Hector LaSalle, Elizabeth A. Garry, and Gerald J. Whalen; Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas; and New York State Bar Association President Domenick Napoletano for the opportunity to address you today.

Investing in legal services is a long-term commitment to advancing the fight against racism, injustice, and poverty. By providing low-income New Yorkers with access to essential civil legal services, we empower individuals to achieve greater stability and economic opportunity. This, in turn, strengthens the resilience of families and communities, enhancing both the economic and social fabric of New York City and  the State. On behalf of The Legal Aid Society and the broader New York State civil legal services community, I extend our sincere gratitude for your continued investment and support.

All eyes are on us as the first jurisdiction to make such a large and sustained financial investment in civil legal services – our success and shortcomings have served  and will continue to serve as a road map for other jurisdictions seeking to implement similar broad investment. At this point of our journey, and based upon our years of experience implementing civil legal services programs, close relationships with our staff, and deep understanding of the needs of our client communities, I would like to address issues around wages, funding fairness, and the recruitment, training and retention of staff to best serve our client communities and sustain our programs.

Funding Fairness and Wages in Line with the High Cost of Living in New York State is Needed to Attract and Retain Necessary Staff

Civil legal services providers are grappling with unprecedented staff attrition, a challenge that mirrors the broader “Great Resignation” that has been affecting both public and private sectors nationwide. However, the need for civil legal services is more urgent now than at any time before. To address the need, organizations must be fully staffed with experienced attorneys and advocates. Unfortunately, turnover rates in some offices have exceeded 35%,[1] and the loss of highly seasoned attorneys – those with 5 to 10 years of expertise – has been particularly damaging. These experienced advocates play a crucial role in supporting vulnerable clients facing critical issues such as housing instability, domestic violence, and immigration challenges. When they leave, their caseloads are often taken on by newer staff or colleagues already managing heavy workloads. While these attorneys are dedicated and capable, the transition can lead to delays and added challenges in ensuring consistent representation, ultimately increasing the risks for clients.

Efforts to recruit and retain staff have been hampered by low salaries, which are significantly lower than those in comparable government positions such as the State Attorney General’s Office and the Office of Court Administration. Most departing attorneys cite inadequate pay as a primary reason for leaving, noting that the cost of living in New York far exceeds what civil legal services salaries can support. Organizations have struggled to compete for legal talent, exacerbated by flat funding despite growing client needs. Surveys by the New York Legal Services Coalition and Stout[2] show that civil legal services attorneys earn, on average, 18% less than their counterparts in government, with paralegals and administrative staff earning 15% less.

This wage disparity directly impacts the quality of services provided to vulnerable populations, as attorney positions remain open for months with few qualified candidates. To address these challenges, funding must increase not only to hire more staff but also to offer competitive compensation, including retirement benefits packages as well as access to public interest loan forgiveness, that will allow organizations to attract and retain experienced attorneys and ensure stable, consistent representation for those who need it most.

Funding for Paralegals, Social Workers and Other Support Staff Should Be Considered Essential Staffing

Funding must account for more than just the cost of attorneys; it must also support the necessary staffing to deliver holistic and high-quality services. Paralegals are essential for administrative law advocacy and legal support, while social workers play a critical role in addressing the mental health, economic, social, or age-related challenges many of our clients face. Since our clients often come to us in crisis, having social workers on staff is crucial not only for client care but also for supporting attorneys who manage the immense stress of clients facing eviction, deportation, and other serious challenges. Without paralegals, overburdened attorneys must take on additional legal support or administrative tasks, and without licensed social workers, they are left to handle crisis management without adequate support or training. Additionally, the absence of other vital support staff, such as investigators, process servers, and administrative personnel, increases the burden on attorneys, limiting their ability to focus on the legal work necessary to effectively represent their clients.

Funding Fairness is Needed to Attract and Retain Experienced Supervisors

Unlike private law firms where new attorneys may not work directly with a client or enter a courtroom for years, new civil legal services attorneys must immediately dive into all aspects of litigation including directly working with clients, researching and drafting legal papers, negotiating with opposing counsel, and handling all court appearances up to and including trials. This requires extensive supervision at every level to ensure high quality legal work on behalf of clients. However, attracting and retaining experienced supervisors remains a challenge. Civil legal service providers lack sufficient funding to ensure appropriate supervisor-to-attorney ratios or provide competitive salaries, in most cases on average trailing experienced government attorneys by more than twenty thousand dollars annually.

Investing in Comprehensive Training for New Legal Services Advocates

Staffing alone is not enough to ensure the success of civil legal services. It is equally essential to invest in focused strategies for training new attorneys and advocates joining the legal services community. These new advocates are critical to the ongoing fight for justice, but they need a solid foundation to quickly become effective in their roles. To achieve this, dedicated resources should be committed to creating a comprehensive training institute that leverages the expertise of the legal services provider community.

By working together, and with sufficient funding, the civil legal services community, which is rich in expertise across all areas of essential legal practice, could develop an institute that takes new attorneys from entry-level to practice ready. The Housing Justice Leadership Institute, established in 2019 as a collaboration between the Sargent Shriver Center for Poverty Law and New York Law School, has successfully trained cohorts of new and experienced attorneys in both substantive and soft skills necessary for housing right-to-counsel supervision in New York City. A similar program designed for newly hired civil legal services advocates could yield similar success, equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in their respective practice areas.

Currently, legal services providers invest significant time and resources into developing their own training programs. However, these programs often coincide with new staff being required to manage intake and represent clients in complex cases, limiting their capacity to develop essential skills. This pressure, combined with high caseloads, delays the learning process and contributes to attrition. By prioritizing comprehensive training, providers could adjust expectations for newer staff, allowing them to focus on skill development without the immediate pressure of full caseloads.

The benefits of investing in such a program are substantial: (1) providers would become more efficient and better able to handle a greater volume of cases; (2) clients would benefit from improved advocacy and case outcomes; (3) new attorneys would feel more confident and fulfilled, fostering retention; (4) experienced practitioners could share their expertise broadly, preparing new attorneys for the complex legal challenges they will face; and (5) newly trained attorneys could engage in successful motion practice, leading to new judicial decisions that advance justice.

The Need for Civil Legal Services Funding to Address Rising Operational Costs

Civil legal services providers are facing increasing operational costs that go far beyond just salaries for attorneys and advocates. Adequate funding must also cover the growing expenses related to occupancy, technology, healthcare, equipment, infrastructure, support staff, and employee benefits, including retirement plans.

Rising occupancy costs, such as rent and utilities, significantly strain our budgets. These expenses increase annually, often outpacing inflation, while funding remains flat. Technology and equipment are also essential for modern legal practice—without up-to-date tools, we cannot efficiently represent our clients or manage our caseloads. As providers increasingly rely on digital platforms for remote work and court proceedings, maintaining and upgrading this technology has become both a necessity and an additional financial burden.

Healthcare costs, including premiums, have surged dramatically in recent years, making it difficult to provide affordable coverage for our staff. Without sufficient funding, we are left with the choice of cutting benefits or reducing the workforce—both of which undermine our ability to retain experienced staff and attract new talent. Similarly, retirement and other benefits, which are standard in government positions, are necessary to support the long-term sustainability of our workforce.

Support staff, such as administrative and operations teams are critical to delivering high quality and effective legal services. Yet, the costs of employing these essential team members are often overlooked in funding allocations. Without adequate staffing, attorneys are overburdened, and client services suffer.

To ensure the continued delivery of high-quality legal services to those most in need, it is imperative that civil legal services funding fully account for these rising operational costs. Investing in these areas will not only stabilize our organizations but also ensure that we can meet the growing demand for legal assistance in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex landscape.

Flat Funding Is a Budget Cut That Harms Clients

In addition to fair funding salary increases and the need for technology and infrastructure, our flat contract budgets need to be annually adjusted.

Flat funding is not truly flat – it functions as a budget cut, and the impact is directly felt by our clients. In addition to needing salary increases, staffing to provide holistic services, and improved technology and infrastructure, our flat contract budgets fail to account for annual increases in healthcare premiums, utilities, rent, and other operational costs (OTPS), which continue to rise. On average, space, utilities, and OTPS costs increase by up to 3% each year, while healthcare premiums can rise by as much as 12%, yet most of our contracts remain stagnant. To manage these rising expenses, we are forced to delay critical investments necessary for the safe and effective delivery of services to our clients.

In practical terms, flat funding results in yearly budget reductions. For instance, on average for New York City providers, every $150,000 spent on a rent increase means eliminating a staff position. Similarly, when healthcare premiums or utility costs rise, it becomes impossible to provide much-needed salary increases to staff already working under immense pressure. This situation differs greatly from that of government agencies, where costs like rent, utilities, and healthcare premiums are automatically covered, and adjustments for unionized workforce salary increases are routinely made. For legal services providers, funding adjustments for salary increases, fringe benefits, and operating costs should be treated similarly and centrally covered, as they are for government agencies.

The Elephant in the Room: Recruitment and Retention of Attorneys in Rural New York Areas

Lastly, it can be quite difficult to get law students to plan a career in providing civil legal services in a non-profit setting, particularly in rural or underserved areas. Several factors contribute to this challenge:

(1)   Lower Salaries. Civil legal services roles in non-profit organizations typically offer significantly lower salaries compared to positions in private law firms or government agencies. This is especially problematic for law graduates burdened by student loans, making the financial commitment a major deterrent.

(2)   Limited Opportunities for Exposure. Many law schools are in urban centers, where students are more likely to gain experience in corporate or government legal work. Exposure to rural or underserved communities is often limited unless specific internships, fellowships, or clinical programs are available.

(3)   Geographic and Social Isolation. Practicing law in rural areas can feel isolating due to the lack of professional networks, fewer mentoring opportunities, and the distance from urban amenities and cultural attractions. This can make it difficult for new attorneys to envision a long-term career in such areas.

(4)   High Caseloads and Limited Resources. Non-profit legal services organizations, especially in rural or traditionally underserved areas often operate with limited resources. Attorneys working in these settings frequently face overwhelming caseloads, insufficient administrative support, and fewer resources to assist clients, which can contribute to burnout.

(5)   Loan Repayment Pressures. While several loan forgiveness programs exist, they are not always sufficient, nor widely or immediately accessible, and the prospect of long-term financial strain can make public interest legal work less attractive.

Despite these challenges, targeted strategies such as loan forgiveness, salary supplements, mentorship programs, and fostering early exposure to rural legal work through internships and fellowships can help attract more students to civil legal services work.

To encourage law students to practice civil legal services in rural or underserved regions of New York State, several key strategies should be implemented. First, offering targeted financial incentives, such as loan forgiveness programs, stipends, or salary supplements, can help offset the lower pay in these areas. Salary supplements might be the best incentive to get new lawyers and social workers to seriously consider a career in a rural or underserved region. Second, developing partnerships between law schools and non-profit legal service providers can create internships and fellowships that expose students to rural and underserved communities early in their careers. Third, creating mentoring and support networks for attorneys practicing in these regions can reduce isolation and foster long-term commitment. Finally, increasing public awareness about the meaningful impact of legal services in underserved communities can inspire a new generation of advocates to pursue careers in non-profit legal advocacy. These strategies, when combined, can help address the urgent need for legal professionals in rural and isolated areas of New York.

In closing, let me again thank you, Chief Judge Wilson, Chief Administrative Judge Zayas, and the entire court system for your continued commitment to funding civil legal services. We look forward to our continued partnership in ensuring access to justice for New Yorkers.

[1] The survey was conducted by Neil Steinkamp, Managing Director, Transformative Change and Pro Bono Practices at Stout Risius Ross, LLC (Stout), and Consultant to the NYS Permanent Commission on Access to Justice in August 2024 (Stout Pay Parity Survey August, 2024). Steinkamp is a well-recognized expert and consultant on a broad range of strategic, organizational, and financial issues to government, business, court and community leaders and their advisors.

[2] Stout Pay Parity Survey (August 2024).