Mobilization for Justice

What Mobilization for Justice does

Mobilization for Justice (MFJ) is a New York City-based nonprofit civil legal services organization founded in 1963 as the legal arm of Mobilization for Youth on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, originally operating as MFY Legal Services and renamed in 2017. The organization provides free legal representation to low-income New Yorkers across four core practice areas: Housing (eviction defense, foreclosure prevention, tenant harassment), Economic Justice (bankruptcy, tax, consumer protection, employment, government benefits, student loans), Disability and Aging Rights (access to home and community-based care, transportation access), and Children and Families (kinship care, special education, immigration, family stability). MFJ also operates specialized programs including the OATH Clinic for taxi drivers facing civil penalties and the Children's Medical-Legal Partnership embedded in NYC Health + Hospitals facilities (Bellevue, Harlem, Kings County, and Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx).

The organization delivers services through in-person intake at offices in Manhattan and the Bronx, telephone intake lines, hospital-based clinics, and community partnerships, with outreach supported by a multilingual website (English, Spanish, Chinese), a Twitter presence (@MFJLegal), The Mobilizer newsletter, fact sheets, and community education programming. MFJ conducts impact litigation alongside direct services, with recent federal class actions against the NYC Department of Education (special education evaluations) and NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (discriminatory sting operations), and a landmark NHTD Waiver disability discrimination settlement. Pro bono law firm partners include Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, Simpson Thacher, Gupta Wessler, Pollock Cohen, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.

MFJ is funded through a mix of foundation grants (including the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation), large law-firm donations (notably a $3.5 million Patterson Belknap fee donation in 2025), individual tax-deductible donations, and likely government civil legal services funding. It is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Executive Director Tiffany Liston (with prior Deputy Director for Program and Development role documented). In 2017, MFJ merged with Partnership for Children's Rights to broaden its children and families practice, and in May 2024 it ratified a three-year labor contract with the Legal Services Staff Association that ended a months-long strike.

Name

Mobilization for Justice

Legal name

Mobilization for Justice, Inc.

Website

https://mobilizationforjustice.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Mobilization for Justice is a NYC nonprofit civil legal services organization, founded 1963, that provides free legal representation to low-income New Yorkers across housing, economic justice, disability and aging rights, and children and families, supported by foundation grants and pro bono law firm partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Legal Services / Legal Aid

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Civil legal services
• Housing legal aid
• Disability rights advocacy
• Economic justice services
• Immigration legal assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

New City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Corporate Grants: MFJ receives grants from foundations such as the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation and law firm partners such as Patterson Belknap who donate attorneys' fees from settlements
2. Donations: Individual donors contribute tax-deductible donations to support MFJ's mission

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mobilization for Justice (MFJ) is a nonprofit civil legal services organization that provides free direct legal assistance to low-income New Yorkers across four core practice areas: Housing (foreclosure prevention, eviction defense, tenant rights), Disability and Aging Rights, Economic Justice (bankruptcy, tax, consumer, employment, government benefits, student loans), and Children and Families (kinship care, special education, immigration). The organization also runs specialized programs such as the OATH Clinic for taxi drivers and the Children's Medical-Legal Partnership with hospitals, alongside impact litigation and policy advocacy.

Product overview

Mobilization for Justice is a civil nonprofit legal services organization offering free legal assistance to low-income New Yorkers throughout New York City. The organization provides direct civil legal assistance across four core practice areas: Housing (including foreclosure prevention and tenant defense), Disability and Aging Rights, Economic Justice (including consumer rights, bankruptcy, and employment), and Children and Families. Additional specialized programs include the OATH Clinic for taxi drivers, Children's Medical-Legal Partnership at partner hospitals, and Immigration Legal Services. The organization conducts community education, policy advocacy, and impact litigation alongside direct client services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Housing Legal Services Free legal assistance for low-income New Yorkers facing housing-related legal problems including foreclosure prevention, eviction defense, tenant harassment, and substandard housing conditions.
• Disability and Aging Rights Free legal services for seniors and people with disabilities to help them live independently, access home and community-based care, obtain accessible transportation, and assert disability and aging rights.
• Economic Justice Free legal assistance for low-income individuals on financial and economic matters including bankruptcy, tax issues, consumer protection, wage theft, employment, government benefits access, and student loan debt.
• Children and Families Free legal services for children and families including kinship care guardianship, special education advocacy, family stability support, and immigration assistance for families.
• Immigration Legal Services Free legal assistance for immigrants on matters including DACA support, immigration status, deportation defense, and access to public benefits.
• OATH Clinic Free legal advice and representation for low-income taxi and rideshare drivers facing civil penalties at the NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), held as a weekly clinic.
• Disability & Aging Rights Project A focused project within MFJ's Disability and Aging Rights practice that advances rights for people with disabilities and seniors, including landmark impact litigation such as the NHTD Waiver Program class action settlement.
• Children's Medical-Legal Partnership Free legal services embedded in partner hospitals (Bellevue, Harlem, Kings County, Lincoln Hospital) to address social determinants of health affecting low-income and immigrant children and their families.

Quantifiable outcome

• Handled approximately 1,500 housing cases in Bronx Housing Court in 2016
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 July 2025Patterson Belknap worked with MFJ on a landmark class action settlement for NYC nursing home residents denied access to the NHTD Waiver Program. The firm donated its entire $3.5 million in attorneys' fees to MFJ to support the Disability & Aging Rights Project. Patterson Belknap has supported MFJ for over three decades.
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2023Simpson Thacher partnered with MFJ to file a class action lawsuit against NYCDOE for systemic failure to provide timely special education evaluations to students with disabilities. The firm provided extensive pro bono legal support.
• Gupta Wessler PLLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2023Gupta Wessler partnered with MFJ to file a federal class action lawsuit against NYC TLC's discriminatory undercover sting operations targeting people of color at airports.
• Pollock Cohen LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2023Pollock Cohen partnered with MFJ to file class action lawsuit against NYC TLC's abusive undercover operations targeting drivers of color.
• Partnership for Children's Rights (PFCR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2017PFCR merged with MFJ, bringing its expertise in children's rights to MFJ's portfolio and expanding services to children and families.
• Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLPmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2012Pillsbury Winthrop launched a pro bono initiative with MFJ to help seniors and people with disabilities obtain and maintain Access-A-Ride services from the MTA.
• Lincoln Hospital (NYHealth+Hospitals)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMFJ's Children's Medical-Legal Partnership expanded to Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx to serve low-income and immigrant children by addressing social determinants of health.
• Bellevue Hospital, Harlem Hospital, and Kings County HospitalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMFJ provides free legal services to children and families at these NYHealth+Hospitals Corporation facilities through its Medical-Legal Partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Legal Aid Society: The Legal Aid Society is NYC's largest direct competitor, providing free civil and criminal legal services to low-income New Yorkers across housing, family, immigration, and elder law — directly overlapping MFJ's four practice areas.
• New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG): NYLAG delivers free civil legal services to NYC low-income residents across housing, family, elder, consumer, and immigration matters using a similar direct-services-plus-impact-litigation model, with comparable funding sources.
• Legal Services NYC: Legal Services NYC is a major civil legal services provider serving low-income New Yorkers citywide with overlapping practice areas (housing, family, consumer, public benefits) and a similar grantee-driven funding model.
• The Bronx Defenders: The Bronx Defenders provides holistic legal defense and civil legal services to low-income Bronx residents, directly overlapping MFJ's Bronx housing work and broader civil practice model.
• Urban Justice Center: Urban Justice Center is a NYC-based legal services and advocacy organization serving low-income and homeless populations across civil legal issues, closely mirroring MFJ's service population and litigation approach.
• Disability Rights Advocates: A nonprofit disability rights legal center that, like MFJ's Disability & Aging Rights Project, pursues impact litigation on disability access and discrimination — directly comparable in mission, funding model, and class-action approach.

Broad incumbents

• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: A national civil rights legal organization that, like MFJ, uses impact litigation and pro bono law-firm partnerships to advance racial and economic justice, but operates across multiple jurisdictions rather than a single city.
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund: A national civil rights law organization pursuing impact litigation and policy advocacy on issues intersecting with MFJ's housing, education, and economic justice work, though operating at far greater national scale.

Emerging players

• Lambda Legal: A national civil rights organization using impact litigation on behalf of LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive people — comparable in its pro-bono-firm-driven impact litigation model and nonprofit structure, though focused on a narrower civil rights niche.
• Children's Defense Fund: A national children's rights advocacy and policy organization that overlaps with MFJ's Children & Families practice area (kinship care, special education, immigration) but operates primarily through policy advocacy rather than direct legal representation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MFJLegal
• Facebookfacebook.com/MFYLegal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mobilization for Justice