Her story is a familiar one in the gig economy era: She works several odd jobs like delivering food for Grubhub and UberEats, or helping people with their tax returns.

But Danielle happens to have a full-time job: She is a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society in New York.

The same goes for Julia Boms, a colleague who began working at Legal Aid last year. On any given day, Ms. Boms might be found in an arraignment court, handling a misdemeanor case. On weekends, she might be tending bar — a past-life job she thought she had left behind.

She is committed to sticking with Legal Aid. “A lot of people are like, ‘In a few years, you’ll go private,’” said Ms. Boms, 28. “But I went to school to do this.”