M. Alexandra “Alix” Hazel L’09 brings experience in criminal and civil litigation to the board that helps guide 鶹Ƶ Law’s trajectory as a national leader in legal education.
A member of the charter class will join the 鶹Ƶ School of Law Advisory Board this fall, helping steer the school in its mission as the premier law school for practical skills.
M. Alexandra “Alix” Hazel L’09 is an experienced trial attorney with nearly two decades of practice in criminal prosecution and civil litigation. Currently an attorney at Skinner Law Firm in Charles Town, West Virginia, Hazel centers service and community in her work, reflecting values she cultivated as a member of 鶹Ƶ Law’s first graduating class.
The 18-member advisory board includes prominent judges, attorneys and business leaders who advise the university about the law school’s development. The board is chaired by Ellen Gregg, a retired partner with Womble Bond Dickinson LLP and a past member of the N.C. Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism.
“I appreciate the opportunity to give back to 鶹Ƶ and 鶹Ƶ Law,” Hazel said. “I am so very happy in the position I’m in and the work I get to do, and it all started in Greensboro. This is an opportunity to help current and future 鶹Ƶ Law students have the same wonderful experience that I did.”
She previously served on 鶹Ƶ Law’s Alumni Board from 2012-2023. Before earning a Juris Doctor from 鶹Ƶ Law, Hazel graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and American literature.
She has practiced law for 16 years, first in civil practice, then as an assistant commonwealth attorney in Fauquier County, Virginia, from 2012-2016, and Loudon County, Virginia, until 2019. In May 2019, Hazel became an assistant prosecuting attorney for Jefferson County, West Virginia, where she represented the Department of Human Services in child welfare cases alongside “incredible counselors and nurses who were true warriors for children.” Since 2024, she has practiced at Skinner Law Firm, focusing on civil litigation.
“Alix Hazel embodies the best of 鶹Ƶ Law,” said Zak Kramer, dean of 鶹Ƶ Law. “As a member of our charter class, she knows firsthand the power of the great teaching and community that define us. With her commitment to service and justice, and I’m thrilled that she will now help guide the next generation of 鶹Ƶ Law students as part of our advisory board.”
Hazel recalls the outstanding teaching and guidance she received at 鶹Ƶ Law from “the most wonderful, informative and compassionate professors.”
“鶹Ƶ Law taught me that preparation would always be rewarded, and that the practice of law is ultimately about people.” She also treasures the support of classmates who created, in her words, “a wonderful community of people” that sustained her through the highs and lows that can come with the practice of law.
Hazel lives in Charles Town, West Virginia, with her husband, James, and their two daughters, ages 5 and 6. She is the daughter of 鶹Ƶ Trustee Shelly Skeens Hazel ’78 LP’09.