VOLS was founded in 1984 in the wake of federal spending cuts to government services available to low-income Americans that squeezed programs from two sides. Cuts to entitlement programs drastically increased the demand for civil legal services, and cuts to Legal Services Corporation funding dramatically reduced the supply.

At the same time, the city’s biggest law firms were thriving. In response to this contrast, Louis A. Craco, then President of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and a partner at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, called on the leaders of the New York City bar to find a way to bridge the widening justice gap.

Former Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance, a partner at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, enlisted the city’s best law firms to join the effort.  Richard S. Lombard, General Counsel for Exxon, recruited corporate law departments. And on May 1, 1984 – Law Day – Mr. Craco announced the founding of Volunteers of Legal Service, supported by nearly 50 of the city’s major firms and corporate law departments.

30 of the 50 took the VOLS Pro Bono Pledge and agreed to complete 30 hours of pro bono service per attorney per year. The VOLS Pro Bono Pledge, the first of its kind, became a hallmark of our organization. It sent a message, understood throughout the New York City bar, that pro bono work was the duty of every respectable law firm and lawyer, and it should be valued as highly as paid work.

VOLS set out to recruit additional firms, identify areas of need, and create volunteer projects to ensure that the work done by pro bono lawyers addressed important local concerns. Over time, VOLS developed dedicated legal projects and hired public interest staff attorneys to manage our programs.

For example, one of our first projects addressed the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. Thousands of New Yorkers were dying of AIDS and had no access to lawyers who could draft wills, health care proxies, or other life-planning documents. Through VOLS, Alexander Forger, then chairman of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, assembled a team of trust and estate attorneys to visit fellow New Yorkers in the hospital and offer them some peace of mind by putting their affairs in order.

VOLS’ work and focus has evolved over time to help close the justice gap in New York City. Today, our six projects and initiatives empower seniors, veterans, immigrant youth, mothers in prison or jail, small business owners, children & families, and LGBTQ New Yorkers to attain dignity, security, and opportunity.