The International Finance and Development Fellowships are awarded to full-time LLM students on a competitive basis to provide outstanding opportunities to gain experience working with international organizations. These post-graduation placements are for a minimum of 10 weeks in duration for which the Law School provides modest financial support.
Students are placed in a range of practice areas including law and development, trade law, climate change, and finance at a number of international organizations.
Past organizations have included the World Bank, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice and the Public Interest Law Center administer other Post-Graduation fellowships.
The 2015-2016 fellows are:
Iqra obtained her Bachelor of Laws and Political Science from Trinity College Dublin in 2015, where she received the Entrance Exhibition Award for achieving outstanding results in the Irish public exams and the Law School Prize for obtaining first place in the annual Junior Freshman exams. She was selected to attend the Australian National University for the 2013-2014 academic year, where she worked with the ANU Students’ Association, the International Students’ Association and the Pakistan Students’ Association.
Iqra worked as an intern at the Office of the Advocate General of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan in 2012. During her final year at Trinity she worked as a paralegal with the Irish Refugee Legal Service, and also received detailed country of origin information research training from the Refugee Documentation Centre in Dublin. She was elected as the Editor-in-Chief of Volume XXV of the Trinity College Social and Political Review in her final year, and has represented Trinity in numerous Model United Nations conferences around Europe.
Iqra is currently pursuing an LLM in International Legal Studies at NYU. She is representing NYU in the Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law and Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moots. Iqra is coaching the NYU Jessup International Law Moot Court team, who were runners up in the Northeast Regional rounds and are advancing to the international rounds. She is also a Student Advocate with the NYU Chapter of the International Refugee Assistance Project and is actively involved with Law Students for Human Rights and Law Students for Reproductive Justice.
Maryam Al-Dabbagh obtained her Bachelor of Law degree with honors from Dar al-Hekma University, Saudi Arabia, in 2015. As an undergraduate student, she participated in the 22nd Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot with an all-female team that swept the awards at the Middle East Pre-Moot, and was recognized as the Pre-Moot’s Best Oralist. She was also a member of the university’s delegation to the EUROMUN conference in the Netherlands, where she won Best Speaker of her committee. Maryam was awarded scholarships to study abroad on a Semester at Sea study voyage, which sailed across Europe and Scandinavia, in the summer of 2014. Upon graduation, she interned with a Saudi law firm for several months before coming to NYU.
At NYU, Maryam is pursuing her LLM degree with a specialization in Environmental & Energy Law. Alongside academic work throughout her fall semester, she conducted research for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, served as a Graduate Editor on the NYU Environmental Law Journal, and took part in the pro bono Courtroom Advocates Project, assisting battered women in filing orders of protection against their abusers. Through the International Environmental Law Clinic, she worked with the World Resources Institute on issues relating to the UNFCCC climate change negotiations.
Maryam is currently interning with the NY Attorney General’s Office at the Environmental Protection Bureau, as well as the NGO Pure Earth, which tackles toxic pollution problems in low and middle-income countries around the world. She plans to sit for the New York Bar in July 2016 and aspires to work in the international environmental policy arena, with a focus on the significant challenge of climate change.
Claudia Arietti, International Institute for Sustainable Development
Claudia obtained her Bachelor of Laws from Universidad Nacional de Asuncion in 2013, where she graduated third in a class of more than 650 students. As a law student, she participated in the 3rd Competencia Internacional de Arbitraje (International Competition of Arbitration) and the 19th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.
After graduation, she joined one of the most prestigious law firms in Asuncion, Paraguay, where she advised local and foreign clients in corporate matters, investment, and financing. In 2014, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue her LL.M. in the United States. Claudia is also an alumna of United World College (UWC) Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific and has been part of the UWC Paraguay National Committee since 2010.
Claudia is currently completing an LLM in International Business Regulation, Litigation, and Arbitration with a focus on business and development. During her time at NYU, she took part in a pro bono project researching the constitutional framework and organic laws of Haiti for the UNDP.
Giuseppe is a Research Fellow at the Universities of Oslo and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. His research focuses on sovereign debt restructuring in public international law.
Giuseppe graduated summa cum laude in Law from the University of Pisa, and obtained masters in general international law and international economic law at Université Panthéon-Sorbonne. He holds diplomas in law and geopolitics from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa and the Ecole normale supérieure of Paris, and was a Visiting Scholar at the Lauterpacht Centre in Cambridge and a Fellow of the Centre for Studies and Research of The Hague Academy of International Law.
Giuseppe worked at the G20 Sherpa Office of the OECD, and at Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton, Brussels. He taught international financial regulation at Sciences Po University, Paris. He has published widely in European and international peer-reviewed law journals and books. He was a judge at the Spanish national rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition 2014, and won the 2009 Sperduti moot court on European Human Rights Law. Giuseppe’s main research interests are public international law, international economic law, investment law and arbitration, financial regulation, and European Union law.
Camilo earned his Bachelor of Laws from Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), Mexico in 2012. He participated in both the Mexican national and international rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, and interned at CIDE’s Public Interest Clinic, assisting in the strategic litigation of high profile cases on constitutional law, human rights and gender theory before the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice.
After graduating from Law School, Camilo assisted and lectured at CIDE’s Public International Law course. He also joined the Federal Mexican civil service working for the Under-secretary of Legal Affairs and Human Rights at the Ministry of Government, where he assisted in coordinating national authorities to comply with the recommendations and judgments issued against Mexico by the bodies of the Inter-American System of Human Rights. He then worked as Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he researched and wrote legal memos for the presentation of Mexico’s legal stance before international forums.
At NYU he is pursuing an LLM in International Legal Studies with a focus on international economic law as a MOB Foundation fellow, Mexican National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) scholar, and with grants from the Mexican Central Bank.
Simon studied law with a specialization on European Union and Public International Law at the Universities of Trier, Geneva, and Kiel. Before passing his first state exam, he worked as a research assistant for Professor Andreas Zimmermann and interned at the Intenational Labour Organization, the German Embassy in Conakry (Guinea), and the European Court of Human Rights. During his practical legal training (Referendariat), prior to taking the second state exam, Simon clerked at the Court of Justice of the European Union as well as at the German Federal Constitutional Court.
Since 2011, Simon has worked as a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, where he has been writing a PhD thesis (doctor of laws) under the supervision of Professor Armin von Bogdandy. Simon’s research has focused on the judicial authority of international human rights and criminal courts. He has also published articles on EU law, international administrative courts, international public and constitutional law.
Simon is pursuing an LLM in International Legal Studies, focusing on international institutional, economic and development law as well as on legal theory.
Lisa obtained her law degree (Master in Laws) in 2011 from Stockholm University, Sweden, where she specialized in public international law and international relations. Recognizing her top grades, she received the university’s highly competitive award to study at NYU Law as an exchange student during spring 2011. The following semester she was appointed for, and completed an internship with, the UN Office of Legal Affairs’ Codification Division in New York. Alongside her law school studies, Lisa also worked at the legal department of SEB (a major bank in Scandinavia) and during the summers as a trainee at two American law firms.
Upon graduation Lisa entered a highly prestigious two-year clerkship program at a district court in Stockholm. Thereafter she worked with litigation and arbitration at a leading commercial law firm in Stockholm. She also worked at the firm’s top ranked department for public procurement and competition law, where she assisted clients in various competition law matters before the Swedish Competition Authority, as well as helping them challenge public procurement awards before the courts.
Aiming for a career as an international lawyer, Lisa is currently completing the LLM program in International Legal Studies at NYU Law, on a full-tuition scholarship awarded by a Swedish private foundation. Her coursework at NYU is primarily focused on public international law, including investment law and trade law, but she is also pursuing courses in development and business and human rights.
Zac completed his Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honors from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand in 2012 and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in September 2013.
From February 2013 until August 2015, Zac worked at Bell Gully, a leading corporate law firm in New Zealand in capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. During that time, Zac worked on a number of large transactions in the New Zealand market for corporate and government clients, including the privatizations of two power companies, public-private partnerships and other corporate governance matters. Zac was seconded for three months to the Financial Markets Authority, the regulator of New Zealand's financial markets.
At NYU, Zac is a Dean’s Graduate Scholar completing an LLM specializing in Corporations Law, where he is focusing on corporate governance and the regulation of financial markets.
Silvia Carolina Lopez Rocha is an attorney specialized in International Law. Prior to entering NYU, she was the Chief Legal Officer at the Mexican-Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Veracruz, where she collaborated with the Mexican Government and transnational enterprises in order to foster trade and investment between China and Mexico, particularly in infrastructure and energy projects. She is an expert in the economic and legal liaison between Asia and Latin America and has represented Mexican companies that expanded their operations into Mainland China.
Silvia Carolina has worked for the United Nations Office in Mexico, where she developed human rights programs to protect immigrants’ fundamental rights. She will receive her LLM in International Legal Studies from NYU, and is a qualified attorney to practice in Mexico.
Martha holds a BSc from McGill University and completed her JD from Queen’s University, Canada, where she graduated with first class honors in the Public International Law program and received the David Sabbath Prize in Evidence. During her JD, Martha received the Torys Public Interest Summer Internship Award to support her work in a human rights clinic in Guatemala. Previously, Martha also worked for the Canadian International Development Agency in Ecuador providing quality control support with a local fair trade partner. Prior to coming to NYU, Martha worked as a litigation associate in a national full service commercial law firm in Calgary. Martha specialized in employment litigation and business integrity/foreign corrupt practices. She has experience in several international anti-corruption investigations and advising clients on Canada’s anti-corruption laws, including the CFPOA. During her time with her law firm, she completed a secondment to the legal department of one of Canada’s leading oil and gas companies. Martha was actively involved in pro bono projects in Alberta, including being a volunteer lawyer for the Civil Claims Duty Counsel Project and the Centre for Newcomers Legal Clinic. She is also a contributing author to the Canada Law Book on Collective Bargaining and Agreement.
Martha is completing an LLM in International Legal Studies with a focus on international public law, development law, and topics related to domestic and international corruption law. She was an NYU research assistant for Professor Davis researching topics related to corruption law. She also took part in an NYU pro bono project researching frameworks of revenue sharing in extractive industries for the UNDP. Martha is fluent in Spanish.
Najmu obtained her first law degree from the University of Indonesia where she graduated cum laude in January 2012. Since beginning of law school, she has been heavily engaged in extracurricular activities and in the community on issues related to development, institutional reforms, as well as human rights. As an undergraduate student, she served as junior researcher at the Center for International Law Studies (CILS) and the managing editor of the law student-edited journal, Juris Law Review, at the Scientific Research Institute.
After graduation, Najmu worked as a public interest lawyer providing legal assistance to marginalized groups and religious minorities in Indonesia such as Ahmadiyya, Falun Gong, and Baha’i. At the same time, she engaged in various research, policy analyses, and legal drafting projects, and collaborated with, advised, and assisted various state ministries, agencies, and local governments.
In 2013, Najmu was awarded the prestigious Arryman Fellowship that allowed her to conduct year-long research at the Equality Development and Globalization Studies, while enrolling at the Department of Political Science, Northwestern University. At NYU, she is pursuing an LLM in International Legal Studies through the generous support of the Indonesia Government Scholarship LPDP. Her coursework is focused on Foreign Investment and Law and Development.
Joanna obtained her undergraduate degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester, graduating with First Class Honors and receiving the Ralph Young Prize for the best result on the degree program. She received her LL.B. with First Class Honors from the College of Law in London and completed her two years of solicitor training with Bates Wells Braithwaite, a London firm which specializes in charity and social enterprise law.
On qualification as a solicitor, Joanna joined the Charity & Social Enterprise department at Bates Wells Braithwaite, where she advised a range of not-for-profit organizations, social businesses, and governmental bodies on their activities and governance. She also became a founding trustee of the International Centre for Social Franchising, a registered charity which works to help organizations with a social purpose to replicate and increase their social impact, and acted as the legal adviser for the ICSF and Secretary for the new ICSF s501(c)(3) organization which has recently been established in the US. Joanna also provided pro bono legal support to organizations such as Advocates for International Development and Teach First.
Joanna received a Dean’s Graduate Award and BUNAC Foundation scholarship to study for an LLM in International Legal Studies at NYU, and is focusing her studies on international human rights law, international development and global governance. She is currently interning at Human Rights Watch in the International Justice Program as well as working on a voting rights project with the Brennan Center for Justice, and was selected as a Cutler fellow to represent NYU at the Salzburg/Lloyd N. Cutler program in Washington D.C., where she will present her paper on the way global counter-terrorism standards have impacted the funding of non-governmental organizations around the world.
Leticia obtained her law degree from Universidade de São Paulo - USP (University of Sao Paulo) Law School, in Brazil, 2011. After graduating, she was admitted to the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) and began working as a corporate transactional lawyer at Demarest Advogados, one of Brazil’s leading full service law firms. In 2013, Leticia took a specialization course at USP Law School on Corporation Law and the Development of the Brazilian Capital Markets.
In 2009, during her law degree, Leticia was selected to represent USP Law School in the Center for Transnational Legal Studies - CTLS, a Georgetown Law exchange program held in London, which brings together faculty and students from world-leading law schools to study and debate legal issues in a multicultural and transnational setting. For that period, she was exposed to debates related to Capital Markets Regulation, International Dispute Resolution, International Business Transactions and Professional Ethics in Business and Law.
Leticia is one of the most experienced capital markets lawyers at Demarest Advogados and has led or participated in most of the key financial and corporate transactions handled by the firm over the past few years. Her experience as a corporate transactional lawyer includes securities offerings, structured finance deals, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and foreign direct investments. Leticia has advised clients from a broad spectrum of sectors, including financial services, infrastructure, agribusiness, asset management and real estate.
Leticia is currently pursuing an LLM in Corporation Law, taking a variety of courses related to development financing, restructuring industries, corporate finance and securities regulation, with a particular focus on funding structures and foreign investment. At NYU, Leticia participated in the foundation of the Brazilian Legal Society - BLS and is a current member of its executive board, occupying the position of Careers Officer.
Hanna Arayaselassie Zemichael received her LLB from Addis Ababa University in 2013 and was awarded the Gold Medal for finishing top of her class. During her time at the Law School, she served as a member of the Editorial Board of the AAU Student Law Review and represented her university at the 2011 EuroMUN Conference. She was also a member of the team that won the national rounds and participated in the international rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in 2012. Hanna interned with the Ministry of Justice Public Prosecutor’s office while working on her thesis on the standard of proof in criminal proceedings in Ethiopia.
After finishing law school, Hanna was employed as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she worked across various sectors particularly in public sector contracting, and performance management in agricultural research. She was an Associate Editor of the Mizan Law Review and served as a researcher at the Ethiopian Justice and Legal System Research Institute. Before starting studies at NYU, Hanna was working in a general-practice law firm mainly handling criminal cases.
Hanna was a recipient of the Hauser Global Scholarship at NYU and is pursuing an LLM in Legal Theory. Her LLM thesis explores the legal implications of the developmental state model, particularly as it is being implemented in Ethiopia. Her research interests include law and development, criminal law, constitutional and democratic theory, and rule of law.