Thomas Lee "Tom" Hazen joined the Carolina Law faculty in 1980. After graduating from Columbia Law School, Hazen practiced law in New York City until 1974. He then served on the faculty at the University of Nebraska College of Law until 1980 when he moved from Nebraska to Chapel Hill.
Hazen's writings have been concentrated in the areas of corporate, securities and commodities law. He has authored leading treatises in those areas and numerous law review articles focusing on securities regulation, corporate law and corporate governance. He has also written about the use of computers in legal education and contract issues relating to protecting intellectual property rights in computer software.
His books include: a seven-volume treatise on the law of securities regulation, plus a one-volume student edition. Hazen is coauthor of a three-volume treatise on corporate law (and a one-volume student edition); a two-volume treatise on broker-dealer law; and a three-volume treatise on derivatives regulation (formerly commodities regulation). In addition, he has written books for student and classroom use, including a casebook on securities regulation and a casebook on broker-dealer law. He is also coauthor of various casebooks: a casebook on business organizations; a casebook on corporate finance; and a casebook on mergers and acquisitions.
For many years, Hazen served on drafting committees to revise the North Carolina nonprofit and business corporation acts as well as the North Carolina Partnership Act. He was vice president and a member of the board of directors of the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. He is a member of the American Bar Association and a former officer of the Business Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. He is adviser to the North Carolina Law Review. Professor Hazen frequently speaks at continuing education programs. He also has served as an expert witness in a number of high profile cases. Professor Hazen also donates a good deal of time to public service. For example, Professor Hazen served on the board of the NorthCarolina Medical Foundation and currently serves as a member of the board of visitors of the North Carolina Children's Hospital, where he was chair of the board for two years.