Antonio M.
Haynes
Strategic Counsel · Board Member · Pragmatic Advocate
Seasoned attorney with experience in elite institutions who combines strategic thinking and humanitarian grace to navigate complex problems while protecting vulnerable communities.
Philosophy
“True equality requires respecting the dignity of all, giving the same grace to others that we would wish for ourselves.”
Antonio M. Haynes approaches every legal problem from the same basic premise: true equality requires respecting the dignity of all, giving the same grace to others that we would wish for ourselves. That unwavering conviction has led him to argue relentlessly that the law should be a force for good, respecting the dignity of everyone it touches.
This belief in restoration and redemption is not abstract. It drives his meticulous work in corporate investigations, where he ensures fairness and due process. It fuels his advocacy for inclusive cultures within elite institutions. And it anchors his deep reverence for the “chosen family” — the communities we build through shared values, mutual protection, and the stubborn refusal to leave anyone behind.
For Haynes, the law is not a blunt instrument of enforcement. It is the most precise tool available for protecting the vulnerable, holding the powerful accountable, and building systems worthy of the people they serve.
Navigating Complexity at the Highest Levels
Corporate Leadership
Evercore
2021–2025Lead Litigation Counsel & Director of Legal & Compliance
Oversees a global docket of disputes at one of the world's premier independent investment banks. Directs internal investigations and manages complex alternative dispute resolutions. Created the Investigations Committee — coordinating stakeholders across Legal and Compliance to ensure absolute consistency in disciplinary decisions and the equitable application of firm policies. Advises at the nexus of human resources, corporate security, public relations, and business operations.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
2014–2021Senior Litigation Associate
Seven years of multibillion-dollar litigation at one of the world's most prestigious law firms. Designed and executed the litigation strategy for a client in an $8 billion, multi-district litigation — deploying early appeals that resulted in the dismissal and settlement of several claims, massively mitigating risk. Routinely advised CLOs and C-suite executives on SEC, FINRA, and FCC regulatory matters.
Second Circuit Clerkship
2013–2014Law Clerk, Honorable Gerard E. Lynch
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Embedded in the highest levels of federal appellate jurisprudence, serving one of the nation's most respected Circuit Judges.
Published Works & Legal Commentary
Intellectual Contributions
Verdict (Justia) & Lewis & Clark Law Review
Scholarship & Commentary
A prolific columnist for Verdict (Justia) and contributor to Lewis & Clark Law Review. Antonio’s writing dissects the ‘Dignity of Risk,’ the ethics of legal masochism, and the preservation of safe-space enclaves.
Dorf on Law
Featured Blog Contributions
Constitutional provocations, sociological defenses of protected spaces, and analyses of self-determination and bodily autonomy.
Shaping the Doctrines That Govern American Jurisprudence
Scholarship
“The initial question must be whether there is specific illegal conduct to which the speech is integral.”
In his paradigm-shifting Cornell Law Review article, “The Age of Consent: When Is Sexting No Longer ‘Speech Integral to Criminal Conduct’?”, Haynes challenged the legal community's reliance on draconian child pornography statutes to prosecute teenagers engaging in consensual digital communication. Leveraging United States v. Stevens, he argued that without a specific link to a valid criminal statute, the First Amendment must protect images of legal sexual acts involving individuals over the age of consent.
The impact was immediate and lasting. His analysis was adopted by state supreme courts across the country, forcing doctrinal shifts in how the judiciary balances free expression against prosecutorial overreach in the digital age.
Cornell Law School · Magna Cum Laude · Order of the Coif · Herbert Reif Prize · 2012
Elite Legal Training in Service of Vulnerable Communities
Advocacy & Philanthropy
Ali Forney Center
Board Member · LGBTQ+ Humanitarian Leadership
Board Member, Ali Forney Center. Dedicated to protecting LGBTQ+ youth through institutional reform and humanitarian leadership. The Ali Forney Center is the nation's largest organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ homeless youth — and Antonio's board service reflects his lifelong commitment to ensuring that the most vulnerable members of the community receive shelter, dignity, and a path forward.
FIPPOA COBE
Committee on Black Equality · Racial Justice
Leader, FIPPOA Committee on Black Equality (COBE). Honored with the Frederick Douglass Prize for transformative research in African American Studies. Drives enclave advocacy and racial justice initiatives, ensuring that Black communities have institutional champions within corporate and civic spaces.
MOSH Audio
Board Member · Legal Strategy & Consumer Technology
Board Member at MOSH Audio, representing the bridge between elite legal strategy and consumer technology innovation. Antonio brings governance discipline, regulatory foresight, and strategic counsel to a company at the frontier of audio technology — ensuring that growth is paired with compliance and institutional integrity.
These three directorships — humanitarian protection, racial equity, and technological innovation — are not separate pursuits. They are the unified expression of a single conviction: that board leadership carries an obligation to serve the communities most in need of representation, and that the corridors of power must be remade to reflect the diversity and dignity of the people they affect.