Susan Welber

Adjunct Professor of Law

Susan Welber is a Supervising Attorney in The Legal Aid Society's Civil Practice. She currently manages the Bronx Neighborhood Office's Government Benefits Unit where she coordinates government benefits advocacy for residents of the Bronx and engages in impact litigation and legislative advocacy aimed at reducing barriers to accessing and maintaining benefis, with a focus on non-citizen access, disability discrimination, and welfare work rules.

She is currently counsel on Chen v. Vilsack, a case against the USDA concerning the agency's failure to help SNAP recipients who are the victims of a form of fraud called "skimming" and is helping to lead state legislative efforts to increase the value of Cash Assistance benefits.

Prior to returning to the Bronx, Susan was a staff attorney in Legal Aid’s Civil Law Reform Unit for over a decade, where she was a lead counsel on numerous cases including Make the Road NY v. Cuccinelli (seeking to invalidate the Department of Homeland Security's "public charge" rule under the Trump administration), Make the Road NY v. Pompeo (seeking to invalidate the Department of State's public charge rule), and Lovely H. v. Eggleston (a class action alleging discrimination on the basis of disability against the New York City social services agency).

Susan is the Co-Chair of the Practicing Law Institute's annual program on Public Assistance and SNAP eligibility for advocates and pro bono counsel, and she serves as an advisory member of the Public Benefits Committee informing the work of the State's Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council for Legal Aid. Susan is also on the Advisory Board for the Feerick Center for Social Justice.

She has also served as the Chair of the New York City Bar Association's Social Welfare Committee. Prior to joining The Legal Aid Society, Susan was an Associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in the bankruptcy department, where she was also engaged in numerous pro bono matters.