The SEED Team
Faculty Directors and Staff
Stephen Choi
Bernard Petrie Professor of Law and Business
Director, Pollack Center for Law & Business
Stephen Choi is the Bernard Petrie Professor at NYU 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.
David Yermack
Albert Fingerhut Professor of Finance and Business Transformation at the NYU 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 NYU Pollack Center for Law and Business. Professor Yermack has been with NYU 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 NYU 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
Head of Research for SEED, Pollack Center for Law & Business
Giovanni Patti is the Head of Research for the Securities Enforcement Empirical Database (SEED). He graduated second in his class from the Università degli Studi di Palermo School of Law (Italy) in 2008 and received a three-year scholarship to pursue his PhD in Corporate Law at the Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata (Italy), which he completed in 2013. Upon graduation, he worked for four years as an associate at Ranieri, Guaccero, Cornetta, a boutique law firm in Rome that specializes in corporate and banking law. He earned his LLM degree in Corporate Law from NYU School of Law in 2018. At NYU he received the Dean’s Graduate Award scholarship, worked as a research assistant for Professor Stephen Choi, and served as a graduate editor for the NYU Journal of Law & Business. Giovanni has published in American and European law reviews, and presented papers in various universities. His research interests include securities regulation and enforcement, financial regulation, and corporate law.
Peter Robau
Senior Professional Fellow, Pollack Center for Law & Business
Before joining the NYU Pollack Center for Law & Business, Peter served as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP where he advised financial institutions clients on issues arising under the Advisers Act and Investment Company Act, CFTC issues, compliance and SEC enforcement, as well as regulatory issues in connection with private equity transactions and fundraising. Peter's research interests include securities regulation and enforcement, financial systems, and law and economics.
Xuan Liu
Wagner Fellow, Pollack Center for Law & Business
Xuan is a Wagner Fellow at the NYU’s Pollack Center for Law & Business. Her research interests include cryptocurrency regulations, securities regulations and enforcement, corporate governance, and law and economics. Her current research focuses on the governance and voting mechanisms of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Before joining the NYU Pollack Center, Xuan practiced as an associate attorney at Baker McKenzie in New York. Xuan earned her Tax LLM from New York University School of Law and her JD from the University of Minnesota Law School. Xuan is admitted to practice law in China and New York.
Graduate Student Research Fellows
SEED depends on the contribution of students from NYU School of Law and the NYU 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.
Cooper Aspegren ’25
Cooper Aspegren is a J.D. Candidate at NYU School of Law, Class of 2025. Prior to law school, Cooper worked as a strategy consultant at Accenture and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago and a Master of Information and Data Science from UC Berkeley. At NYU Law, Cooper is Co-President of West Coast Connection and Chair of the Health Law and Policy Society, and during his 1L summer, he worked at the biotech start-up Octant. He will be joining the San Francisco office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as a Summer Associate in 2024.
Ethan Goldman ’26
Ethan Goldman is a J.D. Candidate at NYU 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 NYU, 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.
Samantha Hui ’25
Samantha Hui is a J.D. candidate at NYU School of Law, Class of 2025. At NYU, she is currently a staff editor for the Journal of Law & Business, Mentorship Director for the Law & Business Association, Co-Chair of the Law Women Partnership & Diversity Committee, and Alumni Co-Chair of the Asian-Pacific Allied Law Students Association. Prior to law school, she worked as a structured products analyst at Citigroup. Samantha graduated from Wellesley College with a major in Economics and a minor in Chinese Language and Culture.
Jane Kim ’26
Jane Kim is a J.D. candidate at NYU School of Law, Class of 2026. At NYU, 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.
Leo Kim ’26
Leo Kim is a J.D. candidate at NYU School of Law, Class of 2026. At NYU, he serves as President of the Korean American Law Students, Social Chair for APALSA, and staff editor for Journal of Legislation and Public Policy. Leo graduated from UC Berkeley with a major in Cognitive Science.
Zuliang “Patrick” Li ’25
Zuliang “Patrick” Li is a J.D. Candidate at New York University School of Law, Class of 2025. He is interested in technology, social entrepreneurship, and private equity law. Patrick received his B.A., with honors, from NYU Gallatin in 2021, where he studied media, technology, and politics. Prior to law school, he worked in both business development at Dentsu International and public policy research at Deloitte. At NYU Law, he is a staff editor for the Journal of Law and Business and the co-chair for Social Enterprise and Startup Law Group. He is also the Nina Pastor Fellow for Technology and Justice. He will be joining Debevoise & Plimpton as a summer associate in 2024.
Chuqiao Lily Liu ’25
Chuqiao Lily Liu is a J.D. Candidate at NYU School of Law, Class of 2025. She is a Birnbaum Women's Leadership Fellow and Jacobson Scholar in Law and Business. At NYU Law, she is currently a Staff Editor on the Journal of Law and Business and the Professional & Academic Co-Chair for Asia Law Society. Prior to law school, she studied Art History and Philosophy at NYU Gallatin (Magna Cum Laude). She is interested in learning more about securities regulation and the securitization markets in Asia.
Gina Tan ’26
Gina Tan is a J.D. Candidate at NYU 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 NYU Law, she is the External Partnerships Chair of the Trial Advocacy Society and is the Professional Events Chair of First Generation Professionals.
Kevin Tsao ’25
Kevin Tsao is a J.D. Candidate at NYU School of Law, Class of 2025. Prior to law school, he worked as a data engineer at Capital One for two years. Kevin graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a major in Computer Science and minor in Finance. At NYU Law, he is currently a staff editor with the Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law.