White House Budget Proposes Eliminating Critical LSC Funds that Support Neighborhood Legal Services

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Trump’s budget proposes the elimination of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), putting at risk essential legal protections for veterans, seniors, and children in New York and across the country. If Congress approves this budget, Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS) would lose $2,032,390.00 of LSC funding that supports civil legal assistance for low-income people in Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming counties.

NLS has been providing vital legal services to New Yorkers for 50 years, and currently 12 percent of NLS’ funding comes from LSC. NLS assists about 16,580 people each year who are facing urgent civil legal problems such as evictions, domestic violence, public benefits denial, or medical benefits denials. Without LSC grant funding, NLS’ ability to serve clients would be significantly reduced.

“LSC funding plays a vital role in helping NLS achieve its mission of providing free legal representation for Western New York residents who are the most vulnerable in our community. As the largest provider of free legal services in the counties we serve, there is no other agency that will be able to fill the gap if NLS is not funded.” said Lauren Breen, Executive Director of Neighborhood Legal Services.

LSC is the nation’s single largest funder of civil legal aid. Each year, LSC funding supports legal services for more than five million low-income Americans nationwide. This includes more than a million children, over 200,000 survivors of domestic violence and 45,000 veterans.

NLS is one of 130 legal aid organizations that rely on LSC funds. In addition to NLS there are at least five other New York state organizations that receive LSC grants: Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Inc; Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York, Inc.; Legal Services of Hudson Valley and Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.

LSC-funded legal aid organizations like NLS do vital work assisting low-income people who are facing urgent civil legal problems that could cause them to lose their home, income, healthcare, custody of their children or an order of protection from an abuser. These organizations are a lifeline for working families, senior citizens, veterans, people with disabilities and those recovering from natural disasters.

“The breadth and depth of the damage that eliminating LSC will inflict on the 130 incredible legal aid organizations that LSC funds, and the repercussions for the low-income communities that those programs serve, is difficult to capture and horrific to imagine,” said LSC President Ron Flagg.  “Because our justice system was built for lawyers, it is too often true that there is no hope of accessing justice when legal problems arise for the 52 million Americans who qualify for LSC-funded services and have no means to afford an attorney,” Flagg continued.

Individuals who have a household income at or below 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible for LSC-funded legal assistance – 16.9% or over 200,000 people in NLS service area currently qualify for services.

According to a recent LSC analysis, civil legal aid yields an average return of $7 for every $1 invested. The demonstrated benefits include cost savings—like reduced spending on shelters, emergency healthcare and law enforcement—as well as improved family stability and increased participation in local economies. In New York state, NLS has generated a positive community impact valued at 94 million dollars including dollar benefits and savings for clients and their families.

In FY 2025, LSC received a Congressional appropriation of $560 million through the Continuing Resolution signed by President Trump. This was flat funding based on the FY 2024 appropriation for the federal government.

Recent letters from external stakeholders have called for Congress to provide robust funding for LSC in FY 2026. These include a letter from leaders of 160 U.S. law firms with offices across all 50 states, a letter from 40 bipartisan state attorneys general and a letter from 37 bipartisan chief justices of state supreme courts. Supporters from New York who signed these letters include Leticia James, New York Attorney General, The Honorable Rowen Wilson, Chief Judge of New York and Michael J. Schmidtberger, Chair of Executive Committee, Sidley Austin LLP.