More than 1,100 attorneys at The Legal Aid Society were planning to strike on Friday, July 25, 2025, but that strike has been averted for now after they reached a tentative agreement with its union.
The breakthrough came just two days before the union’s planned strike deadline. The attorneys, who are represented by the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys – UAW Local 2325, have been pushing for better pay, lower caseloads, improved retirement benefits, and stronger job protections since their previous contract expired in June.
However, talks between the union and management had stalled for weeks. This led to the union terminating its collective bargaining agreement and threatening to walk out. With a deal on the table now, union members will vote next week to either ratify or reject the contract.
Jane Fox, president of the union, said the tentative agreement is a definite step forward. However, she added that there are still significant issues that remain unresolved.
“While we are proud of these historic gains on workload protection to increase retention, a first-of-its-kind student loan fund, 20 weeks parental leave, retiree health benefits, and more, we were fundamentally left behind by Mayor Adams and our employers on salaries and pensions,” Fox said in a statement.
She emphasized that the contract includes a reopener clause, allowing the union to resume negotiations in 2026. “No matter what, we will be back to win the salaries and pensions we deserve next year.”
Legal Aid CEO and Attorney-in-Chief Twyla Carter welcomed the deal, saying it allows attorneys to “continue serving low-income New Yorkers — on a wide range of essential legal matters — without interruption.” She acknowledged, however, that staff pay has “not reflected the complexity or importance of their work — the result of decades of underfunding.”
City officials echoed that sentiment. “The attorneys at the Legal Aid Society provide invaluable service,” said Deanna Logan, director of the Mayor’s Office for Criminal Justice. “We were thrilled to hear the union came to a tentative agreement… to avoid any disruption to our justice system.”
Though the city added $20 million in legal service funding in its latest budget, attorneys say it’s not enough to meet the growing demands placed on public interest lawyers. Union leaders and legal aid providers continue to call on Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council to boost investment, particularly as rising caseloads and staffing shortages threaten service quality.
Had the strike occurred, the city would have lost its largest provider of legal aid services. While other organizations have reached tentative deals, smaller-scale strikes have already begun elsewhere, involving hundreds of legal workers across the five boroughs.