Thomas W. Hayes obtained his undergraduate degree in Accounting from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating magna cum laude, and his law degree from the University of Notre Dame. During law school, and for two subsequent years, he worked in the tax department of a national accounting firm. From there he entered private practice with a Chicago law firm, advising clients in the corporate, estate planning, and privately held business areas.

In 1994 he joined Fuchs & Roselli, Ltd. where he concentrates his practice in corporate transactional matters; trusts and estate planning; and contracts, planning and general counsel in the privately held business area. His clients include numerous high net worth families and privately held companies across many sectors of the economy. Over the past four decades he has particularly enjoyed assisting families and companies on succession planning projects; using trusts to solve various client objectives and problems; buying and selling businesses; and finding creative solutions for shareholder disputes, and trust disputes, outside of litigation.