About ALAA

The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys - UAW Local 2325 (ALAA) represents over 2,700 public interest attorneys and advocates in the New York City Metro Area.  Founded in 1969, we are the oldest union of attorneys and legal advocates in the country.  Every day, our members fight for justice for poor and low-income New Yorkers.

Despite the daily hardships that we face – struggling to provide quality representation while handling unconscionable caseloads coupled with inadequate levels of support staff and resources, not having the capacity to assist all that seek our help, struggling to make a living on lower wages than the private sector while strapped with high levels of educational debt – we fight every day with pride on behalf of the neediest of New Yorkers.

Equal access to justice is an important issue for labor. As attorneys and legal staff, we see every day the adversity low-income New Yorkers face when they confront the legal system on their own, without the aid of a trained legal advocate. We see this in the many forums in which we appear as advocates for our civil clients: housing court, civil court, welfare centers, unemployment offices, administrative hearings for administrative benefits ranging from food stamps and federal disability benefits to welfare and Medicaid. We see this in State and Federal courts. We represent New Yorkers on matters involving housing, homelessness, criminal defense, benefits, disabilities, family law, domestic violence, prisoner’s rights, reentry, elder law, consumer law, foreclosure, immigration, employment, tax law, health law, among many others.

For 50 years, we have tirelessly advocated for our clients through the power of our union, and grown from a small local of a few hundred attorneys, to an amalgamated union of 2,700 members at more than 20 different non-profits.

Mission

As set forth in Article III: Principles and Purposes of our local Bylaws, the mission of our union is:

  • To organize and unite into the union all workers who represent indigent clients;

  • To advance the economic, social, political, and cultural interests of our members;

  • To improve the working conditions, treatment, wages, benefits, and professional standing of members and protect all members from illegal, improper, arbitrary or discriminatory treatment;

  • To ensure the provision of high-quality legal services to our clients and advocate for the improvement of these services in other areas;

  • to advocate through political outreach for the advancement of the interests of our membership, our clients and of poor and working people in general;

  • to maintain relations with other labor organizations and work cooperatively with other unions for the advancement of the interests of our members, our clients and of poor and working people;

  • to educate our members in the history of the labor movement;

  • to develop and maintain an informed and dignified membership in the ranks of organized labor.