Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.

Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., (NLS), is a private, non-profit agency, founded in 1976, and funded primarily by the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Interest on Lawyer Account Fund of the State of New York (IOLA) and a grant from the New York State Assembly. Financial support is also provided by the New York State Commission on Quality of Care, the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, the City of Buffalo, and various agencies of the State of New York.

In 2004 Neighborhood Legal Services merged with two other legal services programs. Niagara County Legal Aid Society located in Niagara Falls and serving Niagara County, and Oak Orchard Legal Services, located in Batavia and serving Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming Counties were merged into Neighborhood Legal Services pursuant to a reorganization plan for the Legal Services Corporation funded programs in New York State. NLS now operates those offices in Niagara Falls and Batavia as divisions of Neighborhood Legal Services under their pre-merger identities. Neighborhood Legal Services provides services primarily in Erie, Niagara, Orleans Genesee and Wyoming Counties. We also provide certain disability rights related services in additional counties in Western New York.

Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. is governed by a Board of Directors made up of attorney representatives appointed from nine local bar associations including the Erie County Bar Association, the Minority Bar Association of Erie County, the Western New York Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, the Niagara Falls Bar Association, the Lockport Bar Association, the Niagara County Bar Association, the Orleans County Bar Association, the Genesee County Bar Association, and the Wyoming County Bar Association. The Board also has members appointed by other public service organizations. The three offices are located at:

Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
237 Main Street, 4th floor
Buffalo, New York 14203
Tel: (716) 847-0650 Fax: (716) 847-0227 TTY: (716) 847-1322

Niagara County Legal Aid Society
A Division of Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
775 3rd Street
Niagara Falls, New York 14302
Tel: (716) 284-8831 Fax: (716)284-8040

Oak Orchard Legal Services
A Division of Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
5073 Clinton Street Road
Batavia, New York 14020
Tel: (585) 343-5450 Fax: (585) 343-5503

CLICK HERE FOR THE NLS STAFF ROSTER

CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL THE  NLS STAFF

CLICK HERE FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

How Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. can help you

PUBLIC BENEFITS

- Public Assistance
- Food Stamps
- Medicaid
- Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits
- Utility problems
- Supplemental Security Income Benefits

DISABILITY LAW

- Social Security/SSI Denials
- Special Education
- Social Security/SSI Work Incentives
- Funding of Medical Equipment
- Vocational Rehabilitation
- Institutional Rights
- Residential/Treatment Issues
- Discrimination (employment, housing)

HOUSING

- Evictions and other private landlord and tenant matters
- Housing conditions
- Public and Subsidized Housing
- Housing discrimination

FAMILY LAW

- Domestic Violence
- Custody (for cases involving risk of child snatching or interstate issues
     or where assigned counsel is not available)
- Divorce on a limited basis
- Visitation (where physical danger to a child is present)
- Paternity
- Child Support
- Adoptions and guardianships on a limited basis
- Significant foster care issues

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

Domestic Violence Project: Attorneys available in family court to assist victims of domestic violence
Assistive Technology Procurement of AT for Persons with Disabilities
Advocacy Projects: (NYS and National grants)
Project Dandelion: Helps people become self supporting and deals with Welfare reform
Community Education: Teaches about legal issues and legal rights of low-income people
Lawyer in the Attorneys available in Buffalo City Court to assist tenants facing
Morning Project (LIMP): eviction

Additional Resources

VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROJECT

The Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) is a program created by Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., (NLS) and the Erie County Bar Association.

VLP consists of private attorneys who represent low-income people for free in the areas described below.  They can be reached at 847-0662.

VLP provides services to people whom NLS cannot serve in:

- Family Law Cases
- Unemployment Insurance
- Consumer/Bankruptcy
- Real Property/Small Estate
- Torts Defendants
- Landlord/Tenant
- Legal Documents for Elderly & Terminally Ill
- Immigration
- Debt Collection Defense
- Representation of Not-for-Profit Groups
- Tax & Mortgage Foreclosures

CASES NOT HANDLED BY NLS OR VLP

Criminal Cases, Traffic Tickets , Money Damage Actions., Estate Work & Real Estate Closings, Torts Plaintiffs, Small Claims Court cases, some Social Security Disability & Worker's Compensation cases where fees are available for other counsel.

People with these cases and clients not financially eligible for our help should contact the

Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service
852-3100

HOW IT WORKS

Call 847-0650 (TDD 847-1322) as listed below.

A limited number of calls are accepted each day on a first-come first-served basis beginning promptly at 9:00 a.m.

Housing, Family & Public Benefits
Monday - Friday — 9:00 a.m.

Disability
Monday - Friday — 9:00 - 4:30

SSI and/or SSD Denials
Monday, Wednesday & Friday — 9:00 a.m.

After the initial telephone call, matters are handled by appointment only, except for certain emergencies as determined by our staff. Home visits may be arranged for clients with disabilities when necessary.

This schedule is subject to change without notice.

ELIGIBILITY

    Services are provided FREE to financially eligible persons who reside in Erie County. In some matters clients are required to pay court costs (usually no more than $70.00). In some cases our Disability Law Unit will represent persons in counties outside of Erie County.

    Federal poverty guidelines are used to determine financial eligibility for our services based upon the number of persons in the household. These guidelines may vary in regard to disability, housing discrimination and domestic violence cases.