Every day in Brooklyn, people with low incomes—especially in marginalized communities—face legal challenges alone. While the borough has a strong network of legal and social service organizations, there is a persistent gap between legal resources available and need for support.
Access Justice Brooklyn partners with compassionate pro bono attorneys to provide high-quality, civil legal services that help ensure equal access to the legal system. Founded in 1990 as the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Access Justice Brooklyn is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that continues offering free legal advice and representation to people who cannot afford it. Through direct services, education, and outreach, the organization supports individuals in the borough while simultaneously dismantling systemic barriers to justice.
The Access Justice Brooklyn approach prioritizes the most basic, essential elements and experiences of human life, including housing, family stability, and subsistence income. In all of our programs, we work collaboratively to discover unmet needs among self-represented individuals to ensure an equitable administration of justice and to lessen the pressure on limited judicial resources. The proven pro bono model—recruit, train, supervise, and support—also provides flexibility to address new legal issues as they emerge.
No one should be denied access to justice due to income, disability, or identity, yet barriers to representation and affordable support complicate an already unbalanced system. Access Justice Brooklyn believes that broad, sustainable systemic change requires a holistic approach. Everyone, whether an attorney or not, has a role to play in expanding access to justice.
