Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project offers free legal assistance to low-income residents of Brooklyn. VLP also assists the self-represented in filing uncontested divorces. The project focuses its work on elder law, family law, battered women's representation, personal bankruptcy and wills. Learn more.

City Bar Justice Center provides free legal representation, information and advocacy to low-income NYC residents from all five boroughs. The Center focuses on immigration, and economic and family justice.

Programs include: immigrant women and children project, refugee assistance project, consumer bankruptcy project, ederlaw project, legal cinic for the homeless, cancer advocacy project, neighborhood entrepreneur law project and divorce clinics. Learn more about the Center's  Economic and Immigrant justice programs 

Contact the Center's telephone Legal Hotline for free legal information, advice and referrals.

The LawHelp web site helps low and moderate income people find free legal aid programs and resources in their communities, and answers to questions about their legal rights. The site offers detailed legal information to New York residents on the following subject areas: family and juvenile, immigration, housing, public benefits, health, life planning, disability, consumer, education, individual rights, taxes and workers rights.

The Legal Aid Society of New York is the oldest and largest provider of free legal services to low-income individuals living in New York City. Client services are provided through a citywide network of neighborhood offices which offer a range of civil and criminal legal services.

The Civil Practice represents low-income families and individuals in legal matters involving housing, benefits, disability, domestic violence, family issues, health, employment, immigration, HIV/AIDS, prisoners' rights and elder law.

The Criminal Practice provides representation in criminal trials and appeals as well as parole revocation defense hearings.

The Juvenile Rights Practice represents children who appear before the Family Court on child protective, termination of parental rights, PINS (person in need of supervision) and juvenile delinquency petitions.

Visit the Legal Aid Society Self-Help Website for self-help guides for information about housing, benefits, employment and domestic violence issues.

MFY Legal Services, Inc. provides free legal advice, counsel and representation to low-income New Yorkers on a wide range of legal issues, including housing, government benefits, employment, mental health, adult home issues, senior issues, consumer problems, employment rights of domestic violence victims, and adoptions and guardianship of related children. Learn more.

View answers to commonly asked questions about housing, public benefits, employment, health care, consumer credit and debt. This page also provides helpful links to related resources. En español.

New York City Bar Legal Referral Service provides free lawyer referrals within the New York Metropolitan Area. A staff attorney from the New York City Bar will help you to find an appropriate way to handle your legal problem. There is no charge for talking to a staff member. The attorney referral service is free. Learn more.

No appointments needed.

New York City Family Justice Center, Brooklyn
Walk-ins accepted 9–5, Monday through Friday
350 Jay St., 15th Floor, Brooklyn, NY  

New York City Family Justice Center, Bronx
Walk-ins accepted 9–5, Monday through Friday
198 East 161st Street, 2nd Floor, Bronx, NY

New York City Family Justice Center, Queens
Walk-ins accepted 9–5, Monday through Friday
126-02 82nd Avenue, Kew Gardens, NY

New York City Family Justice Centers (FJC) offers Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx domestic violence survivors comprehensive services including criminal justice advocacy, civil legal assistance, social work support, family court advocacy and practical assistance in one centralized location.

FJC provides free legal representation to eligible clients in immigration, matrimonial and family court matters. The key feature of the Center is the on-site presence of the entire Domestic Violence Bureau of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. The Center is also supported by representatives from numerous government agencies, community based and organizations and programs, six faith-based organizations, and universities.

FJC also helps domestic violence survivors obtain information about and access critical social services. These include: public benefits, child care, emergency shelter and housing, safety planning, individual counseling, support groups, language interpretation, and services for the elderly and/or disabled. Learn more.

List of services for the Brooklyn Center
List of services for the Queens Center
List of Services for the Bronx Center

New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) provides free legal assistance and direct representation by staff attorneys and law student advocates in areas relating to public benefits, matrimonial and family law, immigration, child advocacy, HIV and elder law. Learn more.

Get help.

New York State Bar Association's (NYSBA) free Lawyer Referral and Information Service will help you find a lawyer in your area. The web site also includes a directory of lawyers in other states and guidelines on when and how to hire a lawyer.

To learn more about legal resources in your area, call the Department of Pro Bono Affairs at 518.487.5641.

Safe Horizon's Domestic Violence Law Project provides free legal information and advice to low-income domestic violence victims with family matters involving child custody, child support, visitation, orders of protection and divorce. Learn more.

Safe Horizon's Immigration Law Project provides free and low-cost services to victims of crime, torture and abuse in immigration proceedings. The program represents battered women in Violence Against Women Act self-petitions and status adjustment proceedings and gender-based asylum claims. Learn more.

Assistance in the courts
Safe Horizon operates more than 30 court-based programs throughout the five boroughs that assist victims in navigating the court system by providing advocacy, information, resources and access to private waiting rooms for victims. Safe Horizon's Children's Centers, located in court houses in all five boroughs, provide free, supportive, educational child care for child victims and witnesses and other children of adults who must appear in court. Learn more.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, crime, rape or sexual assault, call a Safe Horizon hotline for immediate assistance.

Sanctuary for Families' Center for Battered Women's Legal Services offers domestic violence victims free legal advice and direct representation in matters related to divorce, child custody and visitation, child support, immigration, orders of protection and criminal court matters related to domestic violence. Learn more.

Get help.

Urban Justice Center's Domestic Violence Project provides direct legal representation to domestic violence survivors in Brooklyn Family Court in matters involving family offense, custody, visitation and child support. Services also include free legal advice and counseling on matrimonial and immigration concerns, legal advocacy with law enforcement personnel and social service agencies, immediate and on-going crisis counseling, and referrals to legal and social service providers. Learn more.

Get help.

The WomansLaw web site provides bilingual information on navigating the court system in New York and other states, including detailed information on divorce, child custody, parental kidnapping, orders of protection and a listing of resources for immigrant battered women.