In December 2025, Cornell Tech announced a new scholarship intended to honor a pioneer in legal technology and support future leaders at the crossroads of law and innovation. The Michael Mills Memorial LegalTech Scholarship was awarded for the first time to Suby Valluri, an Indian-origin Master of Laws (LL.M.) candidate whose multidisciplinary work combines law, artificial intelligence, and blockchain systems. The recognition not only reflects Valluri’s academic promise but also signals emerging spaces where legal expertise and technology intersect, reinforcing the growing role South Asian Americans play in shaping legal and technical frontiers.

The scholarship itself was established by a network of more than 50 donors to honor the legacy of Michael Mills, a LegalTech leader known for his mentorship, creativity, and efforts to reshape how legal professionals engage with technology. Cornell Tech’s LL.M. in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship program, where Valluri is enrolled, is uniquely positioned to produce graduates capable of navigating and transforming the legal landscape through technology. This inaugural award illustrates the program’s commitment to fostering legal innovators equipped to address complex challenges in an increasingly digital world.

Valluri stands out among his peers for his diverse academic and professional background. Prior to his LL.M. studies, he earned a Ph.D. in quantitative economics and a Master of Arts in law. In addition to his academic credentials, Valluri is the co-founder and CEO of FinMont, a travel payments startup that integrates legal and technological dimensions to streamline global transactions. His leadership at FinMont demonstrates a rare blend of legal insight and technological acumen – qualities that the Michael Mills Memorial Scholarship seeks to recognize and support.

In his remarks upon receiving the scholarship, Valluri emphasized both the personal and professional significance of the honor. He described the award as a meaningful step in his journey to build tools and frameworks that make legal systems more transparent, equitable, and adaptable to technological advances. His stated intention to develop “smart agreements”- contracts combining traditional legal language with automated code that can verify compliance and facilitate cross-border payments – highlights how legal practice can evolve with emerging technological capacities.

The significance of Valluri’s scholarship extends beyond his individual goals. LegalTech, as a field, is becoming increasingly vital as law firms, courts, and regulatory bodies seek to harness automation, data insights, and artificial intelligence to improve access to justice and legal services. Michael Mills, in whose memory the scholarship was established, co-founded Neota, an early platform that enabled lawyers to build legal software applications without writing code. He also co-founded Central Park Conservancy and Pro Bono Net, a nonprofit using technology to expand pro bono legal services. The scholarship keeps alive Mills’s commitment to innovation and mentorship by supporting students poised to shape the next generation of legal practice.

For the broader South Asian American community, Valluri’s achievement represents a noteworthy milestone. Indian Americans and other South Asian Americans have increasingly made their mark across U.S. higher education, law, technology, and entrepreneurship – a pattern that continues to deepen with each generation. Valluri’s success in winning a prestigious scholarship at an institution like Cornell Tech underscores this trend, particularly in spaces where law and technology converge, an area of strategic importance in public policy, corporate governance, and regulatory frameworks.

Cornell Tech’s program itself is an interdisciplinary one, designed to equip students with the skills needed to navigate the fast-evolving intersection of legal norms and technology innovation. Situated in New York City, the campus draws graduates and professionals from diverse backgrounds and prepares them for careers that may span legal practice, policy development, startup leadership, academic research, or public-sector innovation. Valluri’s achievement reflects both his individual capabilities and the environment cultivated by Cornell Tech for forward-looking legal scholars.

Beyond the financial support that accompanies the scholarship, Valluri’s selection places him within a network of peers, mentors, and alumni capable of amplifying his work. The mentorship and community side of the award connect him with professionals building tools and frameworks at the cutting edge of LegalTech, increasing the likelihood that his contributions will influence real-world systems. This network effect is often a decisive factor in whether academic technology projects scale to impactful applications.

At a time when global legal systems face complex challenges – including regulatory responses to artificial intelligence, cross-border commerce, and digital rights -recognitions like the Michael Mills Memorial LegalTech Scholarship serve as reminders that future legal leaders will need to be both legally savvy and technologically fluent. Valluri represents this new generation of legal technologists: individuals whose work is informed by deep theoretical understanding and practical, technology-driven solutions.

As the scholarship continues in future years, it will likely spotlight more innovators at the nexus of law and technology. For now, Valluri’s award provides a compelling example of how South Asian Americans are contributing to civic and professional domains that intertwine legal rigor with technological transformation – an intersection increasingly central to how justice, governance, and corporate systems function in the 21st century.

Key Takeaways About Suby Valluri

• Suby Valluri is the first recipient of the Michael Mills Memorial LegalTech Scholarship at Cornell Tech.
• He is pursuing an LL.M. in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship and will graduate in 2026.
• Valluri holds a Ph.D. in quantitative economics and an M.A. in law and is co-founder and CEO of FinMont.
• The scholarship honors Michael Mills’s legacy in LegalTech and innovation.
• The award highlights the growing prominence of South Asian Americans in law and technology fields.