When you call our intake line, you will be asked for some background information to decide whether you are eligible for our services. We will then assign your case to an advocate for review and evaluation of your legal problem. Once you have spoken with an advocate, we will decide whether we can provide help in your case.

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley was established to provide free legal representation in civil matters to low-income and poor people. Legal assistance is provided in the following areas: (Some of these services are not available in every office - please call for details)

Children's Advocacy :: We provide advocacy and legal representation to children in practice areas including Education and Special Education Law, Disabilities Advocacy, Permanency Planning, Benefits and Housing.

Social Security and SSI Disability Claims :: Our Disabilities Advocacy unit represents people who are filing claims for disability benefits or are appealing the termination or denial of benefits.

Housing :: It is our goal to prevent unlawful evictions and to reduce homelessness in our service areas. We provide legal representation and advice to tenants in eviction proceedings to ensure that all of a tenant's rights are preserved and that low-cost housing is retained by our clients.

Public Benefits :: We provide legal assistance to individuals who have been incorrectly denied or terminated from public assistance programs, including Food Stamps, Medicaid and cash assistance.

Elder Law :: We provide a wider range of advocacy and legal representation to our elderly clients in practice areas including Housing, Benefits, Medicaid, Permanency Planning and Home Care cases.

Domestic Violence: Family Court Project :: Our Domestic Violence unit represents victims of domestic violence in obtaining orders of protections and assists with related legal issues such as child custody and visitation under our Violence Against Women (VAWA) grant.

Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights (PAIR) :: We provide legal assistance to individuals with disabilities on the issues relating to their particular disability, including discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Unemployment Benefits :: We provide assistance to people whose benefits have been denied or whose former employer has contested benefits.

Health Advocacy Project (HAP) :: We provide legal assistance to cancer patients in such areas as access to medical treatments, government benefits, permanency planning, child support and custody, debt relief, housing, and employment.

HIV/Ryan White :: We assist individuals who are infected with or are affected by HIV/AIDS with a broad range of legal issues, including disability, Permanency Planning and Ryan White cases.

Protection and Advocacy for the Developmentally Disabled (PADD) :: We provide information, referrals, and legal representation to children and adults with developmental disabilities in practice areas such as Social Security/SSI, Special Education Law, Housing Discrimination, Rehabilitation, Programs, Transportation and Employment.

Assigned Counsel Plan :: We locate Pro Bono attorneys to represent low-income clients in obtaining divorce or who are defendants in divorce actions.

Domestic Violence: Divorce Project :: We locate Pro Bono attorneys (who are either volunteer or court-assigned) to represent victims of domestic violence in obtaining divorces.

Volunteer Attorney Project :: We administer a panel of Pro Bono attorneys who have agreed to accept cases in their practice areas.

Legal Advocacy :: We give technical assistance to lawyers not affiliated with our organization to help make them more effective in representing their special needs clients.

Outreach :: We provide education and outreach about legal rights and how to protect them to the communities we serve and to other agencies which provide assistance to our client population.