Jeffrey Haas

Professor Jeffrey Haas is a leading authority on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities law, mutual fund regulation, contracts, and corporate and business law. He teaches courses in securities regulation, business organizations/corporations, mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance, mutual fund regulation and contracts. Prior to joining the faculty at Southwestern, Jeff was a tenured professor at New York Law School. Before that, Jeff practiced corporate and securities law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Latham & Watkins.

Jeff believes that it is crucial that law professors—particularly business law professors—“walk the walk” in addition to merely “talking the talk.” “Theory has its place,” according to Jeff, “but it has to be closely integrated into practice-based learning in order to properly prepare our students for the actual practice of law.” Thus, Jeff continues to have one foot firmly planted in the real world in order to enhance his students’ educational experience. Indeed, Jeff has served on boards of directors of public companies for over 22 years, including as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Independence mutual fund family and as a board member of the HSBC family of mutual funds. 

Additionally, Jeff brings into the classroom experiences he garners through the consulting work he performs for a select group of institutions, including Broadway Licensing Global LLC (broadwaylicensing.com), the leading licensor of Broadway productions around the world. Through his work with Gotta Have Rock and Roll.com, LLC (gottahaverockandroll.com) and its affiliated companies, Jeff has advised on deals involving Bruce Springsteen, the Estate of Tupac Shakur, Lady Gaga, Jason Derulo, Eminem, the Estate of Elvis Presley, The Eagles, The Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Def Leppard, Derek and the Dominos, The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (“GRAMMYS”), and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Jeff received substantial media attention in 2018 when he successfully defended Gotta Have Rock and Roll.com LLC and its founders against a lawsuit brought by Madonna Ciccone (a.k.a. Madonna) in New York Supreme Court. The case related to a lengthy handwritten letter Madonna had received from the late rapper Tupak Shakur, her former paramour, while he was serving prison time in New York’s Clinton Correctional Facility. During the litigation, Jeff personally deposed Madonna. Madonna, who was represented by her long-time legal counsel, Proskauer Rose LLP, lost at the trial court level. Madonna thereafter appealed the decision to the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court. However, Jeff and his co-counsel defeated her appeal in a unanimous 5-0 decision.

As a scholar, Jeff’s articles have appeared in the Southern California Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, the Emory Law Review and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, among others. He has also authored the books CORPORATE FINANCE HORNBOOK (1^st and 2^nd editions, West Academic 2021) and CORPORATE FINANCE NUTSHELL (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4^th editions, West Academic 2021). He has co-authored the books THE LAW OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS (5^th and 6^th editions, West Academic 2025), MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS NUTSHELL (3^rd and 4^th editions, West Academic 2025), INVESTMENT ADVISER REGULATION (Thomson West 2008) and CORPORATE FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE: CASES, MATERIALS AND PROBLEMS FOR AN ADVANCED COURSE IN CORPORATIONS (Carolina Academic Press 2006). Jeff received his B.S. summa cum laude from Florida State University (double major in Finance and Classical Civilizations) and his J.D. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a Comment Editor on the Law Review. Jeff also studied Econometrics at the University of Melbourne in Australia as a Rotary Foundation Scholar.