Professor of Law
Professor Jeffrey Haas is a leading authority on corporate, securities
and business law. He teaches courses in securities regulation,
corporations, mergers & acquisitions, mutual fund regulation and
contracts. Prior to joining the faculty at NYLS in 1996, 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. Doing otherwise is
a disservice to the many students who seek to practice law upon
graduation.” 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 almost 15 years. Currently, he proudly serves on the board
of the American Independence mutual fund family and previously served on
the board of the HSBC family of mutual funds. Jeff has substantial
experience (including as Chair) on audit, compensation and nominating
committees.
Additionally, Jeff brings into the classroom
experiences he garners through the consulting work he performs for a
limited number of clients. Most of these clients are entrepreneurs and
small business owners, such as technology-oriented Pixafy (pixafy.com) and
real estate upstart RetailMLS (retailmls.com). “When discussing
various types of business entities and the managerial, tax and other
repercussions of each, students react differently when you tell them that
you had the exact same discussion with a client earlier that day,”
says Jeff. “Moreover, one of the best ways to prepare students for
client work is to share the experience you have with clients with your
students,” Jeff adds.
A drummer by background, many of
Jeff’s clients stem from his passion for rock and roll music and
memorabilia collecting. Through his work with Gotta Have It!
(gottahaveit.com) and its affiliated companies, Jeff has advised on deals
involving Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Eminem, The Eagles, The Allman
Brothers, Bob Dylan, The Recording Academy (“GRAMMYS”) and The
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To his students’ delight, Jeff keeps a
Roland V-Pro electronic drum set in his office at NYLS.
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 book CORPORATE FINANCE
(1st and 2nd editions, Thomson West 2011) and co-authored the books
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 at the University of Melbourne in
Australia as a Rotary Foundation Scholar.
T: 212-431-2340
E: jeffrey.haas@nyls.edu
O:
E1014
Florida State, B.S. 1984, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
University of Pennsylvania, J.D. 1988 cum laude (Law
Review, Comment Editor).
Expert on mutual funds, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and securities law matters. Commentator on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and mutual funds for major media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and The Street.com.
At New York Law School since 1996.