"In 1876, in an office on Manhattan's Nassau Street, with a mighty staff of three, the first legal aid organization dedicated to defending low-income people in the United States was born. Within its first year, the nascent organization, then called the German Legal Aid Society, would represent 212 immigrants who could not afford a lawyer."
"Today, 150 years after representing its first case, the Legal Aid Society is the United States's largest public defense provider, financed by a mix of government and private money. In honor of the nonprofit's sesquicentennial, the New York Historical unveiled a special exhibit earlier this month featuring relics from the Legal Aid Society's history."
""Justice isn't just legal. It's also cultural," Legal Aid Society's CEO and Attorney-in-Chief Twyla Carter told Hyperallergic in a phone call. "I think this exhibit shows just how law and lived experience intersect.""
The Legal Aid Society was established in 1876 on Manhattan's Nassau Street as the German Legal Aid Society with a staff of three, representing 212 immigrants unable to afford legal representation in its first year. Within a decade, the organization recovered wages equivalent to $3.6 million for German immigrants. It later expanded its mandate beyond newcomers to serve all low-income New Yorkers and shortened its name to Legal Aid Society. Today, 150 years after its founding, it operates as the United States's largest public defense provider, funded through government and private sources. The New York Historical recently unveiled a special exhibit titled "Delivering Justice: 150 Years of The Legal Aid Society" featuring artwork by young clients and activists, historical photographs, and archival materials documenting the organization's impact and evolution.
Read at Hyperallergic
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