The Legal Aid Society

Lobbying client

The Legal Aid Society is the oldest and largest legal aid organization in the United States, founded in New York City in 1876, with more than 2,500 employees including over 1,200 attorneys providing free criminal defense, civil, and juvenile legal services to low-income New Yorkers. It is the city's primary legal services provider and the largest recipient of city legal-services funding, with about $574.2 million in active city contracts as of August 2026, serving more than two million New Yorkers annually. With 30 filings since 2024, it lobbied 29 council members through CMW Strategies LLC on budget appropriations and legislation covering civil legal services funding, foster care and ACS matters, and NYCHA housing.

Council members lobbied
29
Filings (since 2024)
30
Lobbying compensation (since 2024)
$163,269
Industry (per city contracts)
Human Services
City contracts (active)
$574,177,582 · 14 contracts
Awarded all-time
$3,670,972,845 · 232 since 2007, incl. expired
Paid to date
$3,058,677,519
Won without a fresh bid
73% of contract value · $2,663,253,318 · 195 contracts
Discretionary funding (FY2009-FY2027)
$181,378,740 · 527 awards
Funding history
Funded every year since FY2009 (19 years running)
Top officer pay (FY2023)
$350,992 · Scott A Rosenberg, General Counsel & Secretary
Based in
New York, NY

Lobbied these council members

Represented by lobbyist firms

Holds contracts at

Funded by these agencies

Lobbied former members

Members who have since left their seat

What they lobbied on

subjects from their filings

City contracts

Registered city contracts, largest first by current contract value (not amount spent): running now, then registered to start later, then ended. Totals count every registered contract. Each line shows its Checkbook contract ID. The tag on each row is how it was awarded (“no-bid” = non-competitive).

Largest payments, by purpose

The organization's largest individual city payments (roughly $25,000 and up), grouped by purpose, to show what recent money was for. This is NOT a total — smaller payments aren't listed; see “Paid to date” above for the complete amount paid against its contracts. Fiscal years 2020 and later.

Discretionary funding received

City Council discretionary (member-item) awards, largest first. Covers FY2009-FY2027.

Funded by these council members

City Council members who steered discretionary (member-item) money to this organization, largest first (FY2020 and later, where the sponsoring member is disclosed). Sitting members link to their page.

Officer & key-staff pay

Reportable compensation from this organization's IRS Form 990 (Part VII), latest available filing (FY2023). Includes pay from related organizations where reported; an annual figure, not a running total. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.

Officer pay over time

Total officer pay changed +14% from FY2020 to FY2023. Top-officer reportable compensation by year (org-paid only), with each year's share of total revenue. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer 990 filings.

Where their influence converges

Outside interests connected to this official through more than one independent channel — drawn straight from the records the rest of the site already shows. “Lobbied them” = a lobbying filing that named the member. “Outside spending” = an independent-expenditure committee the interest funds spent in

Federal awards

Federal awards made directly to this organization in fiscal years 2023 through 2026. Each amount is what the federal government has OBLIGATED on that award as recorded on USAspending.gov as of 2026-08-31 — money committed, not money paid out. These are prime awards only: federal money this

Sources