The SEED Team
Faculty Directors and Staff
Bernard Petrie Professor of Law and Business
Director, Pollack Center for Law & Business
Stephen Choi is the Bernard Petrie Professor at School of Law. He graduated first in his class from Harvard Law School in 1994 and received his PhD in economics from Harvard in 1997. His research interests focus on the theoretical and empirical analysis of corporations and capital markets as well as on judicial performance. He is the co-author of Securities Regulations: Cases and Analysis (West Academic, 4th ed. 2015). He has published in the Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Southern California Law Review, Duke Law Journal, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Virginia Law Review, among others, and has presented papers at numerous conferences and symposia.
Albert Fingerhut Professor of Finance and Business Transformation at the Stern School of Business
Director, Pollack Center for Law & Business
David L. Yermack is the Albert Fingerhut Professor of Finance and Business Transformation at New York University Stern School of Business. He serves as Chairman of the Finance Department and Director of the Pollack Center for Law and Business. Professor Yermack has been with Stern since 1994. His primary research areas include boards of directors, executive compensation, and corporate finance. Professor Yermack has published more than 25 articles in leading academic journals in Finance, Accounting, Economics, and Law. He is a Faculty Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and has been a Visiting Scholar at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. Professor Yermack received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics (1985), Master of Business Administration (1991), Juris Doctor (1991), Master of Arts in Business Economics (1993), and Doctor of Philosophy in Business Economics (1994) from Harvard University.
Anat Carmy-Wiechman
Associate Director, Pollack Center for Law & Business
Anat Carmy-Wiechman is the Associate Director of the Pollack Center for Law and Business. She graduated magna cum laude from Tel-Aviv University School of Law in 2006. Upon graduation, she worked in the litigation group of Amit, Pollak, Matalon & Co., one of Israel’s leading law firms. She earned her LLM degree from School of Law in 2011, and worked as an associate at Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock & Sipser Sipser until joining the Pollack Center in September 2013. She has published in the American Law and Economics Review, and in Precedent and the Law: Reports to the XVIIth Congress International Academy of Comparative Law, Utrecht, 16–22 July 2006. Carmy-Wiechman’s research interests include corporate law, empirical legal scholarship, law and finance, and securities regulation.
Giovanni Patti
Associate Director of SEED Research, Pollack Center for Law & Business
Giovanni Patti is the Associate Director of SEED Research. He graduated summa cum laude from the Università degli Studi di Palermo School of Law (Italy) in 2008 and received his PhD in Corporate Law from the Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata (Italy) in 2013. Following graduation, he worked for four years as an associate at Ranieri, Guaccero, Cornetta, a boutique law firm in Rome specializing in corporate and banking law. In 2018, he earned his LLM degree in Corporate Law from School of Law, where he received the Dean’s Graduate Award scholarship. He has published in The Business Lawyer, Capital Markets Law Journal, and Journal of Law & Business, among others. His research interests include corporate law and securities regulation.
Gad Weiss
Wagner Fellow, Pollack Center for Law & Business
Gad is a Wagner Fellow at the Pollack Center for Law & Business, where his research focuses on venture capital, corporate law, securities regulation, and law and economics. Prior to joining the Pollack Center, Gad practiced as an emerging companies and venture capital attorney, advising tech startups, venture capital investors, and the innovation arms of multinational corporations. He also regularly provided mentoring sessions in several tech accelerators. Gad is currently a J.S.D. candidate at Columbia Law School, where he previously earned an LL.M. degree. He also holds an LL.M. and LL.B. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Gad is admitted to the New York and Israel bar
Graduate Student Research Fellows
SEED depends on the contribution of students from School of Law and the Stern School of Business. Graduate student fellows from the institution perform all research, including gathering enforcement action documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission website and collecting variables for review. We anticipate student research fellows will use our data for their individual research projects.
Anushri Bhuta ’26
Anushri Bhuta is a recent graduate of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India.
She is currently pursuing her LL.M. in Corporation Law at School of Law, with a focus on securities regulation and mergers and acquisitions. Her prior internships include work with leading Indian law firms such as AZB & Partners, where she gained experience in public M&A and capital markets. Her academic and professional interests lie in securities and antitrust law.
Aratrika Choudhuri ’26
Aratrika Choudhuri is an LLM student specializing in Corporation Law at School of Law, Class of 2026 and an Arthur T. Vanderbilt Scholar. Prior to , she was a Senior Associate in the Capital Markets practice at AZB & Partners, one of India's leading law firms. She graduated from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, a top-tier Indian law school, with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law Honors degree in 2019. At , she serves as a Graduate Editor of the Journal of Law & Business.
Ethan Goldman ’26
Ethan Goldman is a JD Candidate at School of Law, Class of 2026. He is interested in economic analysis of the law, and the intersection of property law and environmental law. At , Ethan is involved in the Environmental Law Society, and the First Generation Professionals group. Before law school, he worked as a software consultant at Huron Consulting Group. Ethan graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a major in Mathematics and minor in German Studies. He is originally from Chapel Hill, NC.
Yafei (Ellen) Guo ’26
Yafei (Ellen) Guo is an LL.M. Candidate at School of Law, Class of 2026. She earned her LL.B. summa cum laude from the Central University of Finance and Economics and is qualified to practice law in China. Before joining , she interned in the Beijing office of Clifford Chance and served as an Outstanding Language Services Volunteer with the International Relations Department at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. At , she serves as a Graduate Editor of the Journal of Law & Business.
Gemyla Huang ’27
Gemyla Huang is a JD candidate at School of Law, Class of 2027. She earned her undergraduate degree from in 2022 and went on to work as a case manager with the Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Sanctuary for Families. At Law, she serves as a staff editor for the Tax Law Review and as Community Co-Chair of the Women of Color Collective.
Jason Katz ’26
Jason Katz is a JD student at School of Law, Class of 2026. Prior to , he worked as a paralegal at Sullivan & Cromwell in the Financial Institutions Group. Jason graduated from Cornell University in 2021, majoring in mathematics and economics. At , he serves as an Executive Editor of the Law Review, the Treasurer of the Antitrust & Competition Law Society, and the Treasurer of the Jewish Law Students Association.
Jane Kim ’26
Jane Kim is a JD candidate at School of Law, Class of 2026. At , she serves as President of the First Generational Professionals Board, Student Fellow for the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and as the Partnership & Diversity Co-Chair for Law Women. Prior to law school, Jane pursued a master's degree in English literature at the University of Oxford, and graduated from Brown University with honors with a concentration in Literary Arts and in History of Art.
María Salomé Perea ’26
María Salomé Perea is an LLM Candidate in Corporation Law at School of Law, where she is a Dean’s Graduate Scholar. She earned her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. Before pursuing her graduate studies, she spent four years as an Associate in the Corporate and M&A group at Cuatrecasas, a top-tier international law firm in Colombia, advising on private equity, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and general corporate matters. She also completed a one-year internship in the Wealth Management team at Baker McKenzie in Colombia, where she gained experience in high-net-worth client advisory. At , Salomé serves as a Graduate Editor for the Journal of Law & Business.
Julián David Ríos Zuluaga ’25
Julián David Ríos Zuluaga is an LL.M. candidate at School of Law. He practiced as a lawyer at CMC Abogados in Medellín, where he advised international airlines on regulatory compliance, represented carriers in consumer litigation, and supported foreign investors in business and labor matters. He also served as Director of Public Relations of the Colombian Association of Migration Law. Julián earned his J.D. from EAFIT University, where he was exempted from qualifying exams due to his high GPA and top-percentile performance on Colombia’s national exit exams, ranking among the highest across all university graduates in the country. He pursued graduate studies in Business Law at Universidad de los Andes and in Law and Business at Stern. He is a recipient of the prestigious Colfuturo Scholarship and has published columns in national newspapers in Colombia on legal issues.
Sarah Scheinmann ’27
Sarah Scheinmann is a J.D. candidate at School of Law, Class of 2027. She attended the University of Michigan, where she graduated in 2024 with a B.A. in Public Policy and a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. During her undergraduate summers, she worked at the Face to Face Germantown Legal Center, supporting low-income clients facing housing-related legal issues, and held additional legal internships in Tel Aviv and Philadelphia. At , she is a member of Law Women and the Jewish Law Students Association, and serves as Community Co-Chair of the Law Business Association. She will join Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as a Summer Associate in 2026.
Dalya Stokar ’27
Dalya Stokar is a JD candidate at School of Law, Class of 2027. She graduated with honors from Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in Political Science and Hebrew. At Law, she serves as a staff editor on the Tax Law Review and as the Treasurer of Law Students Against Antisemitism.
Ray Sun ’27
Ray Sun is a J.D. Candidate at School of Law, Class of 2027. Prior to law school, Ray graduated cum laude from New York University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Media, Culture, and Communication and a minor in Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. Currently, he serves as the Community Chair of Rights Over Tech at Law.
Gina Tan ’26
Gina Tan is a JD Candidate at School of Law, Class of 2026. Prior to law school, she worked at the New York State Division of the Budget. Gina graduated, summa cum laude, as the Valedictorian of Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, where she also earned a Master of Public Administration. At Law, she is the External Partnerships Chair of the Trial Advocacy Society and is the Professional Events Chair of First Generation Professionals.
Chima Uzochukwu-Obi ’26
Chima is an LLM candidate at the School of Law, Class of 2026 and a Hauser Global Scholar. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria where he graduated with first class honors. He went on to the Nigerian Law School where he also graduated with first class honors and was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar. Prior to pursuing the LLM in Corporation Law at , Chima worked as an Associate at G. Elias, a top-tier business law firm in Lagos, Nigeria where he advised local and international clients on a wide range of corporate and finance transactions, including mergers and
acquisitions, syndicated and bilateral lending, debt and equity issuances, restructurings, and
derivatives. At Law, he serves as Graduate Editor of the Journal of Law and Business and is a
member of the Law and Business Association.
Faruk Aktay ’14, Ruchin Jain ( Stern 2014), Hayden Bui ’15, Dylan Cassidy ’15, Caroline Dayton ’15, Leslie Hung ’15, Jingjing Wu ’15, Zhi Xia ’15, Hao Zhang ’15, Kuen Young (Anna) Park ’16, Michael Roberts ’16, Erik Andrén ’16, Will Clark ’16, Zhaohua (Josh) Huang ’16, Christopher Porcelli ’16, Dylan Service ’16, Nathan Trunnell ’16, Mark Bennett ’17, Yuan (Claire) Chen ’17, Yujia Feng ’17, Jiarui Li ’17, Run Bo Lu ’17, Melina (Lin) Meneguin-Layerenza ’17, Caitlin Stachon ’17, Ece Gizay Ban ’18, Danielle Kfir (Dulitzky) ’18, Yuan (Percy) Gao ’19, Avelino Garcia '19, David Kang ’18, Joann Park ’18, Carla Ruggero ’18, Theodore Tan ’18, Bozidar Bogosavljev ’19, Pedro Armando Castelar Pinheiro ’19, Shiyi Fan ’19, Pimvipa Kunanusorn ’19, Christine Lee ’19, Coty Lee ’19, Geoffrey Adonu ’20, Xiaoting An ’20, Edward Duan ’20, Ted Lee ’21, Gutemberg Pacheco Lopes Junior ’20, Eugenio Prosperi ’20, Victor Ricardo ’20, Courtney Sohn ’20, Ben Wertkin ’20, Zhongji Wu ’20, Brandon Ho ’22, Victoria Byler ’21, James Nirappel ’22, Zain Syedain ’22, William Walant ’22, Sotonye Belonwu ’21, Risa Das ’21, Arya Dhakal ’21, Jaskiran Kaur ’21, Joseph Ogunmodede ’21, Nathalie Bertha Louis Peeters ’21, Abiodun Rufai ’21, Rilwan Shittu ’21, Qibin Ying ’21, Neha Deshmukh ’22, Devansh Gupta ’22, Simran Kaur ’22, Tanaya Sanyal ’22, Rohini Sud ’22, Ariel Errar ’23, Pilar Laitano Ferreira ’23, Kyle Tebo ’23, Emad AI Mazyad ’23, Tanvi Durve ’23, Sonakshi Faujdar ’23, Malina Gulino ’24, Maria Matkou ’23, Elli Park ’24, Anushka Sanjay Shah ’23, Martin Stepanyan ’23, Alex Greenberg ’25, Ryan Oh ’25, Sudarshana Basu ’24, Jerry Chai ’24, Ryan Huck ’24, Samantha Hui ’25, Joaquin Jacome ’24, Alexandra Klein ’24, Zuliang “Patrick” Li ’25, Chuqiao Lily Liu ’25, Nastassia Merlino ’24, Shefali Murthy ’24, Oluwatumininu (Tumi) Odunuga ’24, Ifeatu Onyekonwu ’24, Gayatri Ramesh ’24, Anushka Mehul Shah ’24, Ritu Shah ’24, Vitória Vidal Serrano ’24, Wenyue Zhu ’24, Kheyransa Aliyeva ’25, Cooper Aspegren ’25, Leo Kim ’26, Charlotte LeBarron ’26, Yuelin (Evelyn) Liu ’25, Yichun Liu ’26, Khushi Maheshwari ’25, Dhriti Mitra ’25, Favour Ogini ’25, Ashiqur Rahman ’26, Kevin Tsao ’25, Krish Amish Vadodaria ’25.