Legal Assistance of Western New York Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
160955954
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Geneva, NY, USA
Phone
3157811465
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,803,017
Expenses
$25,826,014
Assets
$9,594,675
Liabilities
$6,782,688

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JESSICA SIMON (PRESIDENT)
  • LORAINE SCHOENFIELD (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LORI O'BRIEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LORI O'BRIEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $166,341 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS S DUBEL (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $153,858 total reported compensation
  • MARK WATTENBERG (SUPERVISING ATTORNEY): $141,460 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Lawny increases access to justice through excellent legal representation, advocacy and service.

What it reported doing in 2025

Through its program services, lawny advances its mission of increasing access to justice by providing free civil legal services to low-income residents across a 14-county service area in western New York. Lawny attorneys and advocates focus on preserving housing, securing access to healthcare and public benefits, protecting survivors of domestic violence, and addressing other essentials of life. In addition to direct representation, lawny engages in advocacy, community education, and outreach to ensure that vulnerable populations understand and can exercise their legal rights.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 95% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.6%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 93.5%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,183.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.1%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.71; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.6% of revenue deployed · 93.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $24.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $166K · 30 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.4M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.