Grant Overview
Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the leading financial institutions in Italy and Europe, is offering a prestigious research grant opportunity for up to three members of the NYU Law community. The application period for 2025-26 Intesa Sanpaolo has closed; subscribe to the Grunin Center's email list for updates regarding next year's grant applications.
Selected scholars will receive a $5,000 research grant to support research in one of the following areas:
- Antitrust laws and compliance policies as triggering factors for the development of innovative and sustainable markets
- Impact banking as a new development platform where business meets community needs and perspectives
- Green and circular economy as transition paradigms for mature economies
In addition to financial support, Intesa Sanpaolo Junior Scholars are encouraged to publish their work in scholarly journals.
Selection Committee
Recipients will be selected by:
- Professor Franco Ferrari (Clarence D. Ashley Professor of Law; Director, Center for Transnational Litigation, Arbitration, and Commercial Law)
- Professor Geoffrey Miller (Stuyvesant P. Comfort Professor of Law; Director, Center for Financial Institutions; Faculty Co-Director, Center on Civil Justice)
- Professor Kevin E. Davis (Beller Family Professor of Business Law, Faculty Director, Hauser Global Law School)
Additional Opportunities
Grant recipients will have the chance to:
- Present their research to leadership at Intesa Sanpaolo’s offices in Milan, Italy
- Attend a special Intesa Sanpaolo event both in Italy and at NYU School of Law
- Have travel costs covered by Intesa Sanpaolo in addition to the grant funding
Eligibility & Application Process
Who can apply?
- JD students, LLM students, and NYU Law research scholars
2025–2026 NYU Law Intesa Sanpaolo Junior Scholars
Aidan Arasasingham JD '27
Aidan is interested in the intersections between financial regulatory, antitrust, and national security law. His Intesa Sanpaolo research will focus on how expansive competition considerations in US and EU bank merger law could inspire more robust screening for national security, sustainability, and innovation risks in defense mergers. Aidan holds a BA in Global Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics. Prior to law school, he was a researcher with the Economics Program of the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, DC. At NYU Law, Aidan serves on the boards of the Antitrust & Competition Law Society, Asian Pacific Allied Law Students Association, and Art Law Society and is a research assistant for Professor Emerita Linda Silberman.
Kahaari Kenyatta JD '26
Kahaari’s interdisciplinary interests include antitrust and competition policy, administrative law, infrastructure, and macroeconomics. His research will explore the viability of legacy energy companies’ favorite sustainable technologies amid the regulatory uncertainty of the second Trump administration. Kahaari graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Health and Societies and Concentration in Public Health. Prior to law school, Kahaari worked as a strategy consultant and lobbyist on health policy issues in Washington, DC. At NYU, Kahaari is President of the Student Bar Association, and serves as an Articles Editor on the Law Review and a research assistant for Professor Noah A. Rosenblum.
Scott Overbey JD '27
Scott is a joint JD/MPP student at NYU School of Law and Harvard Kennedy School interested in tax law and policy. His research focuses on the role of tax incentives in climate change mitigation, especially investment in renewable energy. He graduated from Princeton University in 2021 with a BA in Economics and Urban Studies with a minor in Statistics and Machine Learning. Prior to law school, Scott worked as an economic consultant performing data analysis on a variety of financial, tax, and antitrust lawsuits. At NYU, Scott is co-president of Tax Law Association, a student editor on the Tax Law Review, and a teaching assistant for Prof. Daniel Hemel's Federal Income Taxation course. He has also worked as a research assistant for Profs. Arpit Gupta (NYU Stern) and Florencia Marotta-Wurgler (NYU Law) on projects related to the use of AI in legal research.
2024–2025 NYU Law Intesa Sanpaolo Junior Scholars
Emmett Tabor JD '25
Emmett is interested in antitrust and international competition law. His research focuses on the potential of competition policy to promote sustainable and climate-smart agriculture practices, specifically looking at the international seed and herbicide industry. He graduated from Cornell University in 2019 with a BS in Policy Analysis and Management. Prior to law school, Emmett worked on a variety of antitrust, intellectual property, and health care projects as an economic consultant. At NYU, Emmett serves as the Competitions Executive Editor for Moot Court, Treasurer of the Antitrust and Competition Law Society, and a research assistant for Professor Eleanor Fox.
Tanya Bansal JD '25
Tanya is a scholar in the Jacobson Law and Business Program. Through her Intesa Sanpaolo research, she hopes to better understand the impact of lenders on the climate-related performance of borrowers. Tanya graduated from NYU Abu Dhabi in 2018 with honors in Economics and a specialization in Finance. Prior to her JD, Tanya worked in the Middle East, first as a management consultant at Monitor Deloitte, and later as a strategy associate to His Excellency Sameh Al Qubaisi in the Abu Dhabi Government, where she helped draft the proposal for the first SPAC framework in the region, set up various funds in collaboration with Mubadala Capital and ADQ, and expand development finance options for SMEs. Tanya is an editor on the Tax Law Review and a Research Assistant to Professors Rob Jackson, Kobi Kastiel, and Zalman Rothschild.
2023–2024 NYU Law Intesa Sanpaolo Junior Scholars
Soomin Shin JD '24
Soomin is interested in environmental and financial regulation. She studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 2019. Before law school, she was a banking analyst in New York City and worked primarily on energy and infrastructure deals. At NYU Law, Soomin was an Online Editor for the Law Review and is involved with APALSA. She hopes to analyze different central banks' approaches to climate change mitigation in light of increased climate-related litigation against financial institutions.
Visit LinkedIn to learn where Soomin is now.
Soumya Kandukuri JD '24
Soumya is passionate about the intersection of legal institution design, emerging technologies, and sustainable development. Her research project for Intesa Sanpaolo focused on the relationship between comparative antitrust law and investment in social enterprise innovation. Soumya’s interest in these topics stems from her experiences prior to law school working at two education technology start-ups in Silicon Valley and studying international political economy at Occidental College. At NYU, Soumya enjoyed serving as a Notes Editor for the NYU Law Review, a research assistant for Professor Emeritus Jerome Cohen, and an NYU International Law and Human Rights Fellow with the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.
Visit LinkedIn to learn where Soumya is now.
Adam Reynolds JD '25
Adam was focused on climate and environmental justice issues. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 2018 with a BA in economics and an MA in international relations. Before coming to NYU, Adam spent six months working on an Ohio congressional campaign and almost four years in the US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration addressing industrial subsidy and countervailing duty policy issues. His research focused on the intersection of trade policy and the environment and his interests were in addressing the role of state subsidies in efforts to address climate change. Adam spent the summer of 2023 in the Massachusetts Attorney General's Environmental Protection Division.
Visit LinkedIn to learn where Adam is now.