Roe is also an established expert on international corporate governance.
He has written about how concentrated corporate ownership, as practiced by many European social democratic countries, can hinder transparency and shareholder rights.
"He has a cross-national scope that no one else on the faculty does," said Kraakman.
"Columbia's loss is our gain," said HLS spokesperson Michael A. Armini. "We are thrilled to have him."
Roe joined the Columbia Law School Faculty in 1988. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and at the Rutgers University School of Law.
Before entering academia, Roe worked at the Federal Reserve Bank and as an associate in securities law at the New York firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel.
He received a B.A. from Columbia University in 1972.