The Impact of an Educator: A Profile of Alan K. Haynes

By Christian A. Garza, with Richard L. Garza

It was a magnificent, early summer day in Manhattan’s Financial District. The air was crisp. The sun was shining. Alan Haynes was walking towards the federal courthouse, as he had done countless times. This time, it was for an altogether different occasion. A former student was being sworn in to one of the most prestigious appellate courts in the nation. Alongside him were several other former students with their own remarkable careers. They soon arrived at the awe-inspiring Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse and made their way into the majestic celebratory courtroom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

On this day, June 3, 2022, Myrna Pérez, a graduate of San Antonio Douglas MacArthur High School and Columbia Law School, was to be sworn in as a judge on this court. Hundreds of family, friends, and wellwishers were in attendance, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the U.S. Attorneys for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, members of the federal judiciary, and numerous luminaries in the New York legal community. In the second row of the courtroom sat Alan Haynes. He was a dignitary in his own right, as he was Judge Pérez’s mentor over the past three decades.

Alan Keith Haynes is many things: An educator, a prosecutor, and a law school administrator. But of all things, perhaps he is most fulfilled by being a mentor to generations of high school speech and debate students. I was such a student, fortunate enough to call him not only my mentor, but also my longtime friend. I have known Alan Haynes since August 1990, when I was a fourteen-year-old freshman at MacArthur High School. I will never forget the first day that I met Mr. Haynes and the distinct impression that he made on me and the other new debaters. So much has happened since then. Little did I know that, thirty-two years later, I would be writing in praise of this teacher non pareil (and still, after all this time, admiringly referring to him as “Mr. Haynes”).

A child of San Antonio, Mr. Haynes grew up on the West Side of town. He and his brother were raised by his mother and stepfather. He graduated from Holy Cross of San Antonio in 1976 and attended UTSA, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1979. Mr. Haynes became a World History and United States History teacher in 1980. The next year, he became a speech and debate coach at San Antonio’s Lee High School. He helped develop the program into a powerhouse in cross-examination debate, winning the Texas state championship in 1988 and the national championship in 1989. Over the next five years, he coached a diverse group of Lee and MacArthur students that went on to win state championships and numerous national tournaments. Due to his efforts (and those of his mentors), the San Antonio public school system reached an unprecedented level of success in speech and debate in the 1980s and 1990s.

Mr. Haynes’ former students have gone on to myriad successful careers. Below are tributes to Mr. Haynes from several of his former students:

Mr. Haynes always expected much of his students. His expectations that one be both intellectually honest and thoughtful have carried me for more than twenty years as a lawyer and now a judge. He has a great love for his students and an earnest desire for their success in education and life.

—Hon. Daniel O’Brien, Lee H.S. Class of 1991; Baylor Univ. Law School Class of 2001; Hays County Judge, County Court at Law No.3 in Dripping Springs, Texas.

As a teacher and coach, Mr. Haynes instilled the values of tremendous dedication to one’s craft, as well as a laser-like focus on academic achievement. Importantly, he developed long-lasting relationships with the parents of his students, such as my father, attorney Richard L. Garza, earning their trust, support, and admiration. As high school students, we would travel for tournaments across Texas, as well as to places like Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and Washington, D.C. While on the road, the debate parents knew that we were all in good hands with Mr. Haynes. He created a sense of teamwork, mutual respect, and camaraderie among his students, which in some cases lasts to this day. Most, if not all, of his debaters graduated at the top of their high school classes, were National Merit Scholars, or were accomplished in other extracurricular activities. As with any good student-teacher relationship, their success was in many ways his success.

In 1994, Mr. Haynes made the bold decision to pursue a career in the law (something that he had always dreamed about doing after teaching). He was accepted into many law schools but decided on Northeastern Law School in Boston. After law school graduation and passing both the Massachusetts and New York bar exams, he served as an assistant district attorney for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan (1997-2002) and an associate counsel for the New York State United Teachers (2002-2005). In both pursuits, he became extremely familiar with the courtrooms of New York City. After eight years as a practicing lawyer, he then made a meaningful career switch, moving on to the world of law school administration.

Mr. Haynes always went the extra mile. His drive to put in the time with the team and prepare us to succeed was admirable. I think it is a tribute to Mr. Haynes that so many former students continue to stay in touch because of the connection they formed with him many years ago. His dedication to educating and helping his students has always come through.

—Mr. Franklin Rubinstein, MacArthur H.S. Class of 1993; Univ. of Chicago Law School Class of 2001; Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Washington, D.C.

During his time in academia, Mr. Haynes has been a tireless advocate for diversity in the legal profession. From 2005 to 2008, he was the associate director of career services and diversity outreach advisor at Brooklyn Law School. He then worked at the University of Minnesota Law School as Director of the Career Center (2008-2015) and as chair of the law school’s diversity committee. In those positions, he greatly enhanced the law school experience for many students by bringing interviews onto the campus, expanding off-campus interview programs in major markets, and counseling those seeking opportunities in the public and private sectors. In Minnesota, he co-chaired the State Bar Association’s Self-Audit on Gender Equity and Diversity and chaired the State Bar Association Diversity Committee. In recognition of his efforts, he received the Hennepin County (Minneapolis) Diversity Attorney of the Year award for assisting in preserving the 1L diversity clerkship program in Hennepin County.

Mr. Haynes taught me some fundamental skills—how to build an argument, how to put arguments together so that they work together systematically, how to reason across different systems of arguments, and how to convey all those arguments to different types of audiences. Research, writing, and public speaking—all of that, too. He also taught me how to work as part of an intellectual team, how to rely on others, and how to support them. These skills could have taken me in all sorts of directions, but they are a natural fit for a career in law and especially for teaching law.

—Prof. Micah Schwartzman, MacArthur H.S. 1990-1992; Univ. of Virginia Law School Class of 2005; Hardy Cross Dillard Professor of Law and Director of the Karsh Center for Law and Democrac at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In a fun twist, we are now co-workers! It has been really lovely to work alongside him for the last seven years at St. Mary’s Law. It is always nice to reconnect with someone as an adult and forge a new kind of friendship on more equal terms. We love telling everyone we meet that he was my high school debate coach!

—Ms. Robin Thorner, Lee H.S. Class of 1991; N.Y.U. Law School Class of 1999; Assistant Dean of Career Strategy at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio.

Mr. Haynes returned home to San Antonio in 2015, joining the administration of St. Mary’s University School of Law. He initially served as the Assistant Dean for Law Student Affairs. Patricia Roberts, Dean of St. Mary’s University School of Law, recognized his passion in working on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues and asked him if he would be interested in teaching Legal Research and Writing and to serve as the Director of Pipeline Initiatives. Dean Roberts told him: “You light up when you teach.” He accepted the Dean’s invitation with alacrity. Concerning his role as Director of Pipeline Initiatives, Mr. Haynes recently told me: “I was convinced it was a perfect fit for me, given my passion to increase the diversity of the legal profession. My work now is to increase the awareness of high school, community college, and undergraduate university students about law school and the legal profession. It is my hope that I can do my part to increase the diversity of the legal profession, and my new role at St. Mary’s School of Law gives me the ability to do that.”

Displaying the same intensity and steadfastness from his days as a high school debate coach, Mr. Haynes has become quite the trailblazer with regard to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts while working as a law school administrator. He has presented and published on important topics such as “The Vanishing African American Male in Law Schools,” “Achieving Diversity,” and “Recognizing our Biases with Clients and Colleagues.”

This semester at St. Mary’s School of Law, he teaches a course on Race and the Law, which analyzes the interplay between race and justice. In the spring semester, he will teach the inaugural course on Introduction to American Law for undergraduate students at the University. This past summer, he hosted Law and Leadership Camps at St. Mary’s School of Law for almost eighty high school students from Marshall Law and Medical Services High School and the Young Women’s Leadership Academy. He also founded a Street Law Chapter at the law school, where law students go into local high schools and teach high school students about constitutional law issues. He also serves on the boards of Marshall Law and Medical Services High School and Holy Cross of San Antonio. In the spring of 2022, based on his work with Marshall Law and Medical Services High School, he was recognized as an outstanding partner of the year by Northside Independent School District.

Even with this full plate, he continues to make time to serve his alma mater, volunteering as a debate coach at Holy Cross of San Antonio. Currently, Holy Cross has a student body that is 95% Hispanic. He beams when speaking about students such as Jason Fuller, one of this top Holy Cross debate students. Jason graduated last May as the class valedictorian and is now attending Princeton University on full scholarship. From campus, Jason wrote:

Mr. Haynes was instrumental in my journey to Princeton . . . . I would not be here if it were not for his unwavering support. Mr. Haynes is a person who believes in the potential of people and has influenced a generation of leaders and trailblazers that have gone on to shape the world. He saw my potential and always encouraged me to further my education and explore my passions. I am forever grateful to have met Mr. Haynes. He is an inspiration and a figure that has changed our community for the better.

Professor Haynes teaching at St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Mr. Haynes’s life continues to be enriched by students such as Jason, as this is what he calls “the beauty of teaching.”

Given this background, it should come as no surprise that many of his debaters went on to illustrious careers in the legal profession. Mr. Haynes counts current law professors, judges, law firm partners, and general counsel as his former students. His debate students went on to Yale, Stanford, Columbia, and other elite law schools. Several became clerks for the federal district and appellate court judges, and two of his former students clerked for United States Supreme Court justices.

The impact of an educator can last of lifetime, as was manifest at Judge Pérez’s investiture. After introductory remarks from Senator Schumer, two federal district judges, and several civic leaders, Judge Pérez—the first Latina on the Second Circuit since the elevation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court—next thanked those that had a helping hand on her rise to the federal appellate bench. Before all in attendance, she specifically mentioned Mr. Haynes as a guiding force in her life as a lawyer. It was an incredibly moving moment. I was sitting right next to him. Joyful tears were flowing. His sense of pride and accomplishment were readily apparent.

June 3, 2022: At the investiture of Myrna Perez as Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Manhattan, New York. Left to right: Judge Perez; University of Virginia Law Professor Micah Schwartzman; St. Mary’s University School of Law Professor Alan Haynes; and fellow debate classmate Robert Root, who is now the debate coach at Holmes High School in San Antonio.

As we walked away from the courtroom ceremony, Mr. Haynes, my father, and I had some time for reflection. Over thirty years of mentorship and friendship is truly something to behold. We were grateful to have this time together in New York, even if only for a day. We all knew that day would remain far longer in our memories.

Christian A. Garza is a 1994 graduate of Douglas MacArthur High School and a 2001 graduate of Yale Law School. He clerked for the Chief Judge of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and is now Senior Counsel for Enterprise Products in Houston. This year, he is serving as the Chairman of the Board of the Houston Bar Foundation.

Richard L. Garza is a 1964 graduate of Louis W. Fox Technical High School and a graduate of Texas Southern University School of Law. He is a member of the San Antonio Bar Association. He is retired and enjoys visiting with his family in San Antonio and Houston and with fellow Vietnam War veterans.