ABOUT MFY
Meet the MFY Board of Directors
Mission
MFY's mission is to ensure that no poor New Yorker is denied equal access to justice because he or she cannot afford representation. A 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, MFY was founded on the principle of equal access to justice through community-based legal representation of poor New Yorkers. Working in concert with neighborhood social service providers and community advocates, MFY reaches out to those most in need to help resolve the problems faced by large numbers of low-income New Yorkers: housing, jobs, health care, entitlements, and family violence. MFY provides advice and representation to over 10,000 New Yorkers each year and initiate affirmative litigation that impacts thousands of people.History
MFY Legal Services, Inc. became an independent, not-for-profit law firm in 1968, having started out in 1963 as the legal arm of Mobilization for Youth, an anti-poverty organization created a year earlier to prevent juvenile delinquency. Working out of storefront and mobile offices, MFY quickly became the prototype nationally for the urban neighborhood poverty law office.The idea of neighborhood-based legal services for the poor became a fixture of the legal landscape in 1974 with the creation of the federally-funded Legal Services Corporation. By their 25th anniversary in 1988, MFY was recognized as a national leader in poverty law, having served tens of thousands of low-income New Yorkers and won numerous test cases.
To continue to expand its level of service in the face of federal funding cutbacks in the 1980s, MFY consolidated its neighborhood offices in lower Manhattan while maintaining its commitment to community-based services by conducting legal clinics at neighborhood centers. MFY stayed true to its mission after new regulations barred federally-funded agencies from initiating class action litigation on behalf of poor people by withdrawing from the Legal Services Corporation system. Today, long after Mobilization for Youth ceased operating, MFY Legal Services continues to meet the needs of low income New Yorkers while taking a leading role in initiating impact litigation that helps thousands of people.
CONTACT MFY LEGAL SERVICES, INC.
MFY Legal Services, Inc.
299 Broadway, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Phone: 212-417-3700
Fax: 212-417-3890
E-mail: info@mfy.org
Web site: www.mfy.org