Telesca Center for Justice
1 West Main Street, Suite 200
Rochester, NY 14614

Empire Justice Center

Empire Justice Center is a statewide, social justice law firm that makes the law work for all New Yorkers. We use every tool possible to strengthen, improve, and enforce the law. In order to do so, Empire Justice Center: • represents low-income families, as well as classes of New Yorkers, in a wide range of legal areas; • researches and analyzes policies, then advocates on the local and state level for improving and strengthening the rights of people who have low-incomes, are disabled, or disenfranchised; • provides legal support and training to nonprofit and private attorneys and other nonprofit advocates. Specifically, Empire Justice Center focuses on consumer law, child care, housing/tenant's rights, foreclosure prevention, education, student loan debt, disability and civil rights, public benefits, immigration, domestic violence, LGBT and crime victims' rights. We have seven offices statewide: in Rochester, Albany, White Plains, Yonkers and on Long Island. Over the past year, our work directly benefited tens of thousands of New Yorkers. These investments helps to support families, and can also be a boon to economic development. For example, our foreclosure prevention practice stabilizes not just the homeowners we represented, but the neighborhoods they live in and the property tax base of their communities. More Than Direct Legal Representation We Change the Law - But Empire Justice Center does more than just assist individual clients and the communities they live in, we provide legal analysis and advocacy aimed at improving the laws that impact low-income households and communities across the state. Our reports educate and inform the public and policymakers about inequities, and press lawmakers for change. We Practice the Law - We provide direct legal representation and litigation when necessary, and we also attempt to solve problems raised at the local level without litigation. Many of our advocates play an integral role in commissions around the state that are focused on resolving problems outside of the court system. We find that this strategy is one of the most fruitful ways to quickly and efficiently solve systemic issues that arise at the local level. We Teach the Law - As a statewide support center Empire Justice provides technical assistance and training on substantive legal issues, acts as an informational clearinghouse, and provides litigation backup to local legal services programs and advocacy organizations across the state. Empire Justice advocates often act as co-counsel in more complicated and difficult cases. Through our trainings and technical assistance we are building a statewide community of informed advocates who can spot and challenge unfair and potentially illegal practices. By providing litigation support we are working to ensure that laws affecting low-income New Yorkers are respected and enforced. WE COLLABORATE Acknowledging the strength of collaboration, the four legal service providers housed in the Telesca Center for Justice have embarked on an innovative and collaborative call to increase access to justice for all in our community. Bonded by the shared belief that legal barriers should never prevent those in our community from achieving their dreams, this collaborative partnership combines the wisdom and expertise of Empire Justice Center, JustCause, the Legal Aid Society of Rochester, and Legal Assistance of Western New York. Together, we reach thousands of individuals, empowering our neighbors with equal protection before the law each year. Your support of this innovative collaboration ensures access to high-quality, comprehensive legal services for all, regardless of their financial means.

We focus on: Community Benefit and Economic Development, Human Services

Where we are: Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Wayne


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