The Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Program (EVC) offers rising 2Ls funding for summer internships at startups led by NYU Law alumni. Tell us about your experience working at TechGC this past summer.
I had an incredible experience working at TechGC, which is a community platform for in-house legal teams at high-growth tech companies. The internship allowed me to explore my interest in entrepreneurship and engage with individuals in the legal industry, including the general counsel and chief legal officers at companies such as Lyft, Bumble, AI2, OnlyFans, and Craigslist.
Throughout the summer, I contributed to multiple divisions within the company. First, I collaborated with TechGC's recently hired in-house counsel to address several outstanding legal issues the company faced. Together, we drafted corporate resolutions, enhanced TechGC's membership agreements and privacy policy, and even drafted a technology policy that outlined the terms of the company's present and future usage of AI tools.
Second, I supported the content team in planning and implementing their member-only virtual events, which addressed key issues that corporate legal departments face concerning privacy, AI, and professional responsibility. Finally, I had the chance to staff several dinners at exciting venues in New York City for TechGC members who are local to the area, providing further opportunities for in-person networking with notable in-house legal practitioners.
You were also a Tepper Fellow (Social Enterprise Law Research Assistant) last year. Can you tell us more about what those opportunities are and what you learned from those experiences?
Working as a Tepper Fellow has been a defining experience for me at NYU Law. I came to law school with a strong interest in the intersection of law and social entrepreneurship. Having learned about the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship during the law school application process, I jumped at the chance to contribute to their work during my 1L year.
The Tepper Fellows work alongside the Grunin Center to manage the Social Enterprise Law Tracker (SELT), a tool that illustrates the development of social enterprise [work by for-profit organizations to make societal or environmental change while meeting business goals] legislation across all 50 states. The research process involved identifying and documenting recent updates to social enterprise legislation on a state-by-state basis. The Tepper Fellows also author and publish an annual report, which summarizes the prior year's findings and looks to the future of the social enterprise landscape. This year, our report focused on the increasing number of public benefit corporations (PBCs), pushback towards shareholder-led proposals to convert to PBCs, and a lawsuit against Meta that raised broader questions about corporate social purpose.
In June, we had the opportunity to present our findings at the Grunin Center Annual Conference alongside Rob Esposito, the SELT co-founder, Tepper Fellow advisor, and managing director/senior ESG counsel at Apollo Global Management. Being able to lead a discussion on issues related to social enterprise and the law was incredibly rewarding!
What first inspired you to pursue a career in law?
As an undergraduate, I was able to develop and explore several different passions and interests: international relations and transatlantic security, renewable energy and sustainable development, and entrepreneurship. Over time, I began envisioning a legal career that would allow me to weave these diverse interests together in exciting and meaningful ways.
At the same time, I had just started my own zero-waste food business on my undergraduate campus. We worked with the Startup Ventures Clinic at Duke Law School to navigate the various legal and regulatory obstacles we faced. Working alongside these law students and their advisors illustrated the value legal practitioners could provide to young, growing ventures with impactful missions. Their work ultimately inspired my decision to apply to law school.
What are you looking forward to this semester?
I’m looking forward to getting more involved on campus this semester! I’ll be working as a staff editor for the Journal of Law and Business, the Treasurer of the Social Enterprise & Startup Law Group, and a Tepper Fellow for another year. I’m excited to invest in these communities and amplify their presence at NYU Law. I’m also hugely excited to begin my externship in the Antitrust Enforcement Division of the NY Attorney General's Office and participate in my first seminar-style class on International Development Finance.
Posted on September 6, 2023