NYU Law Announces Appointments of Professor Kathryne M. Young and Sateesh Nori as Inaugural Scholars in the Center on Civil Justice’s Scholars Program
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
New York University School of Law’s Center on Civil Justice (CCJ) is proud to announce the appointment of its first two Scholars under the newly launched CCJ Scholars Program, an initiative designed to build sustained partnerships with leading scholars and practitioners committed to solving the nation’s most persistent civil justice challenges.
Professor Kathryne M. Young, appointed as Senior Scholar for Empirical Access to Justice Research, brings unparalleled expertise in understanding how ordinary people experience legal problems long before they reach lawyers or courts. A professor at George Washington University Law School and a former sociology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Professor Young designed and administered one of the largest representative access-to-justice studies in U.S. history. Her research—published in top law reviews and social science journals—maps how law interacts with the social world, with a particular focus on the “below the iceberg” problems that shape outcomes before formal legal intervention occurs. Her work will advance CCJ’s efforts to build a rigorous, data-driven research agenda focused on early-stage legal problem-solving and legal empowerment.
Sateesh Nori joins as Senior Research Fellow in AI and Access to Justice, bringing more than two decades of experience in housing rights, public interest law, and legal-technology innovation. A former Project Director at The Legal Aid Society and former adjunct professor in and co-founder of NYU Law’s Housing Clinic, Nori’s work explores how AI can democratize access to legal services and support low-income and self-represented litigants. At Just-Tech LLC, he helps develop AI-driven tools to further the missions of legal aid organziations. He will lead research on the promise and risks of AI in civil legal systems, prototype AI-assisted tools, and help convene events on these topics. Nori is also a member of the Legal Services Corporation’s Leadership Council, a board member of LSNTAP, and a 2026 recipient of the IAALS Rebuilding Justice Award.
Together, Professor Young and Sateesh Nori will help build CCJ’s capacity for impactful research, innovative programming, and forward-looking collaborations across NYU Law, the broader academic community, and national justice institutions. Their appointments signify CCJ’s deepening commitment to addressing civil justice needs through rigorous inquiry, interdisciplinary partnership, and responsible innovation.