Pro Bono Spotlight: Haley Hills
“I am determined to practice law in a way that makes access to legal counsel easier and more accessible to queer and neurodiverse people. And to honor people forced to deal with a legal system that doesn’t honor them. Black people deserve justice. Trans people deserve respect. Neurodiverse people deserve a world that recognizes their value. People with disabilities deserve dignity. All of us deserve kindness and fairness. My love and compassion guides and fuels my fearless advocacy.” – Attorney Haley Hills
Attorney Haley Hills is a solo practitioner in Winchendon, MA, who joined CLA’s pro bono panel in July 2023. The day after meeting our pro bono team for the first time, Attorney Hills accepted two housing cases. The first involved the eviction of an elder for non-payment of rent and the other a private landlord’s refusal to de-lead our client’s apartment, despite the client having a child under the age of 6 living in the home.
Attorney Hills was able to get the first client’s eviction case dismissed in February 2024 after tireless advocacy. She assisted the client in applying for ARPA funds through Friendly House and then submitting four RAFT fund applications through Central Mass Housing Alliance, Inc. to cover his arrears. Additionally, Attorney Hills negotiated with the landlord’s attorney to apply subsidies the landlord had just qualified for to the client’s apartment. Once the eviction case was dismissed, the landlord agreed to draft a new lease for the same apartment, but with rent set at 30% of the client’s income, instead of the $800 per month he was paying previously (71% of his income from SSDI). Attorney Hills then ensured the client was connected to community resources which could assist him with obtaining benefits and managing his outstanding consumer debts.
Currently, Attorney Hills is advocating on behalf of a young family who is experiencing significant bad conditions in their apartment. When she noticed her complaint with the City of Worcester was closed within just a week of submitting it without an inspection being done, Attorney Hills followed up directly with the Senior Sanitary Inspector for the City of Worcester, requesting that she contact the client to complete an inspection.
Attorney Hills is a dedicated advocate for whom no challenge is too large nor problem too complex. Her holistic approach and intersectional mindset mean that she is able to address not only the civil legal issue a client is currently experiencing, but provide them with the resources and knowledge to become their own advocates. CLA is so grateful for her advocacy!
Attorney Hills earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School. She established her firm, Haley Hills LLC, in 2023 and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, as well as her local Worcester County Bar Association.
