NYU Law welcomes six new members to the Board of Trustees
NYU Law alumni Jay Grunin ’67, Jonathan Polkes ’84, Adam Turteltaub ’98, Steven Chung ’99, Lisa Watts ’99 LLM ’01, and Grasford Smith ’05 joined the Law School’s Board of Trustees in October. The new trustees—a group that includes leaders in law, philanthropy, and finance—bring to the Board broad vision and a range of experiences, expertise, and talent.
Jay Grunin ’67
For Grunin, philanthropy is a personal passion. He and his late wife, Linda Kalmanowitz Grunin ’67, launched the Grunin Foundation in 2013. Four years later, the foundation established the groundbreaking Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship at NYU Law, whose mission is to build the community of lawyers and scholars focused on social entrepreneurship, impact investing, and sustainable development. The annual Grunin Prize for Law and Social Entrepreneurship recognizes attorneys who develop innovative solutions to help businesses advance sustainability and human development. Early in his career, Grunin worked at a large New York City firm and clerked at the New Jersey Appellate Division. Acting on the advice of his wife, Grunin relocated to central New Jersey, where the couple ran their own legal practice for two decades before dissolving their firm to concentrate on philanthropic initiatives full-time. “Jay epitomizes the qualities we instill in our law students,” says Dean Troy McKenzie ’00. “His experience will contribute so much to our Board, and I’m grateful to have his guidance in his new capacity as a trustee.”
Jonathan Polkes ’84
A partner at White & Case LLP, Polkes is a prominent litigator who has represented corporations, boards, and senior executives in many large, complex cases. He was a first-chair trial counsel in a major federal antitrust trial that resulted in a $406.8 million jury verdict for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in 2025. He was also lead litigation counsel for Warner Bros. Discovery in two high-profile securities and corporate disputes. Previously, Polkes was a litigator at Weil, Gotshal & Manges for two decades. Earlier in his career, he was an assistant US attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where he became deputy chief of the Business and Securities Fraud Unit. He has also taught advocacy and evidence as an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law. “The range and magnitude of Jonathan’s work as a litigator has been impressive,” says McKenzie. “Both his enthusiasm and experience will serve our Board well.”
Adam Turteltaub ’98
Turteltaub has been recognized as a leading practitioner of corporate mergers and acquisitions. At Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, he is a partner in the firm’s Corporate & Financial Services Department and is co-chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group. He advises public and private companies in addition to private equity firms on domestic and cross-border M&A, minority and strategic investments, restructurings, takeover defense, shareholder activism, and corporate governance. This year he advised Megger Group Limited, a provider of test, monitoring, and data analytics solutions, in its $2.35 billion acquisition by ESCO Technologies Inc., a global provider of aerospace, defense, wireless, and consumer electronics products. “We are fortunate to have his experience and insight,” says McKenzie. “And I know the Board will benefit greatly from adding his perspective.”
Steven Chung ’99
Chung is a deputy chair at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, co-head of the firm’s Corporate and Finance Group, and chair of the firm’s Aviation Finance Group. Representing clients such as export credit agencies, commercial banks, and equipment suppliers, Chung advises on a broad range of international corporate and finance transactions. He has extensive experience in a wide variety of aircraft and other structured-equipment financings, including aircraft acquisitions and dispositions; domestic and cross-border leveraged lease transactions; aircraft portfolio securitizations; the issuance of enhanced equipment trust certificates; and joint venture transactions. Among the many significant aircraft-related financings that he’s handled was the first 144A/Regulation S offering of asset-backed notes after the 2008 financial crisis. Before joining Hughes Hubbard, Chung practiced at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy for more than 11 years. “Steven’s background in commercial finance, particularly in aviation, is representative of the fearless urge for innovation that characterizes NYU Law graduates,” says McKenzie.
Lisa Watts ’99 LLM ’01
A prominent figure in tax law, Watts serves as vice chair of Latham & Watkins LLP and is a member of the executive committee, where she focuses on managing the firm’s global presence. With more than two decades of experience in complex transactional tax matters, Watts advises a broad array of private equity firms, US-based and foreign public and private companies, partnerships and limited liability companies, and investment banks. She counsels enterprises in navigating the multifaceted tax components of significant US and cross-border transactions, joint ventures, recapitalizations, public financings, and corporate restructurings. Her client list includes PE firms Blackstone and One Equity Partners and corporations such as Landmark Health, Moran Foods LLC, and Toys R Us. “Lisa represents NYU Law to a T, relying on the innovation and leadership skills she learned here to develop the strategic direction of her firm,” says McKenzie. “She will add so much to the Board with her unique experience and perspective.”
Grasford Smith ’05
A nationally recognized commercial litigator, Smith has been a partner and board member at Akerman LLP in West Palm Beach, Florida, since 2020. His clients have included Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and financial institutions, in addition to professional sports organizations and athletes in high-stakes commercial disputes and complex contractual matters. Smith began his legal career in 2005 as an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York and Washington, DC. Three years later, he joined Squire Sanders & Dempsey in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he handled business litigation cases. By 2013, Smith was a senior counsel in the South Florida–based commercial and private law firm Jones Foster, where he became the first Black equity partner in the firm’s century-long history. “Grasford has always embodied the NYU Law mentality, even during his earliest days as co-founding executive of the NYU Journal of Law and Business,” says McKenzie. “He embraces the innovative and bold leadership that defines the NYU Law experience.”
