Jay Haws

Bio

A Different Kind of Law Student

Jay Haws is a JD/MBA candidate at Wake Forest University School of Law and School of Business, graduating May 2027. He is building toward a practice in corporate transactions and business litigation—ideally at a firm where rigorous business law intersects with the sports industry, though his core interest is in the deal work and commercial disputes that define a strong corporate practice.

His academic record reflects that direction. Jay has earned CALI honors—the highest grade in the class—in both Contracts and Corporate Governance. He serves as Problem Chair of Wake Forest's Transactional Law Team, a finalist in both the Tulane and Villanova Football Negotiation Competitions, and is an Online Editor for the Journal of Business & Intellectual Property Law. He also works as a Research Assistant to Professor Gregory Parks. His coursework spans Mergers & Acquisitions, Federal and Corporate Tax, and Contracts & Commercial Transactions Drafting.

Before law school, Jay earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, where he captained the Club Baseball team. Before that, he played Division III baseball and football for a year—an experience that shaped his understanding of what it demands to compete in a team environment under real pressure.

That competitive background carried into entrepreneurship. Jay took over and managed the Stillwater Loggers, a collegiate summer baseball team in Stillwater, Minnesota—scheduling 30+ games annually, raising over $10K in funding across three years, and hosting free youth clinics in the community. He also worked in guest services with the Minnesota Twins, gaining exposure to how a Major League organization operates from the inside.

Professionally, Jay has drafted complaints, motions, and demand letters as a Legal Intern at Lester Law; supported client portfolio work at Highmark Wealth Management; and served as a Compliance Legal Extern at Wake Forest Athletics, where he built eligibility-tracking models and revised NCAA Rules Education materials. The JD/MBA reflects a core belief: the best business lawyers understand not just the law, but the business decisions their clients actually face.