Charles J. Goetz joined the University of Virginia Law Faculty in 1975 and held the Joseph M. Hartfield Chair from 1982 until June, 2006, when he retired to Emeritus status. In 1998, he was also named Harrison Foundation Research Professor of Law and served until 2002, when he semi-retired to a halftime faculty position. Prior to coming to UVA, he was Professor of Economics and Director of the doctoral program in economics at Virginia Tech.

Prof. Goetz received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Providence College in 1961. He pursued doctoral studies in economics at the University of Virginia, where he was a student of Nobel laureates James M. Buchanan (Goetz's dissertation director) and Ronald Coase and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Upon finishing his Ph.D. work in June, 1964, Goetz was awarded a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship and spent the 1964-65 academic year at the University of Pavia, Italy, where he learned to speak a passable Italian. After two years at the University of Illinois Dept. of Economics, he joined the Virginia Tech economics department in 1967.

Prof. Goetz has published extensively in both economics and law. Since joining the Law faculty, his scholarly interests have focused on contract law and general Law and Economics applications. He is the author of the casebook Law and Economics. He has co-authored, with Fred S. McChesney, an antitrust textbook entitled Antitrust Law: Interpretation and Implementation.

Goetz has had wide experience as a forensic economist and consultant on commercial litigation cases and occasionally serves as an expert witness. He has worked on cases ranging from the $6 billion International Uranium Cartel litigation to small cases done on a pro bono basis. Prof. Goetz is also a regular lecturer in the Economics Program for Federal Judges and, thus, has had a large fraction of the federal judiciary as students. He is also an active lecturer for state court programs in Continuing Judicial Education.

During his teaching career, Goetz brought his scholarly and practice expertise into the classroom, regularly teaching in the areas of Contracts, Antitrust, Law and Economics, and Methods of Proof (scientific and technical evidence).

Prof. Goetz's hobbies are computers and running. Although retired from competitive running for over ten years, he formerly held the Masters state record for Virginia at the 5000 meters distance.