Hicks is a C. Ben Dutton Professor Emeritus of Law at Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington. He is a nationally recognized expert in securities law, and in 1991 was awarded the C. Ben Dutton Chair in Law for his excellence in research and teaching. He is also a past recipient of the Leon Wallace Teaching Award.
Professor Hicks is a frequent speaker at professional conferences throughout the United States. He has also been a visiting professor at universities in China, Ireland, France, and Germany, and was a visiting fellow at Wolfson College in Cambridge, England. Professor Hicks received his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1965.