about us

Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice part of the Appleseed Network, a nonprofit network of 17 public interest justice centers in the United States and Mexico.

Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice (LEJ) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) law firm created to advocate on behalf of low income individuals and families in Hawaii on civil legal issues of statewide importance and to complement the assistance provided by existing legal services providers in the state.

LEJ conducts important research on housing, health, education, immigrants and disability rights issues, to identify underlying problems in the community. Once problems are identified, LEJ may engage in legislative and administrative advocacy to ensure that the policies, laws, and practices intended to address the problems of those living in poverty are well designed and are implemented legally, fairly and effectively. LEJ may also conduct seminars, prepare publications, and engage in legal education to disseminate its findings and inform low income individuals and community groups of their rights and the options available to exercise those rights. LEJ also reaches out to other like-minded community groups through building grassroots coalitions and supporting the work of other public interest advocates in Hawaii through collaborative partnerships that facilitate the sharing of technical skills and substantive knowledge and the coordinated use of resources. Finally, LEJ, when necessary, conducts large scale, complex litigation to protect the rights of the low income community. To read more about our work, click here.