Sophia Haynes is a native of Prichard, Alabama.   She is a graduate of Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama.  Upon graduation, she accepted a commission in the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant with the Adjutant General’s Corps.  She then applied to law school and was accepted into Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  In 1998, she graduated with honors, entered active military service and began her legal career at the Army Judge Advocate General’s School in Charlottesville, Virginia.                                 

Upon completion of the Judge Advocate’s School in 1998, Haynes was assigned to Fort McPherson in the Metro-Atlanta, Georgia area.   As a Judge Advocate, Captain Haynes practiced various areas of law including civil, administrative, labor & employment, operational law and criminal.  She also deployed to Kuwait and Egypt on military assignments and advised senior military officials on the administration of justice and legal maneuvers.  In 1999, she was promoted to the position of Client Services Division Chief and provided legal services for over four hundred military personnel. During Operation Enduring Freedom, right after the September 11th attack, Captain Haynes served as legal counsel for the general level commanders of Third United States Army.  She also served as Senior Judge Advocate for Third U.S. Army’s legal office. She received an Honorable Discharge and earned the Army’s Achievement Medal and Post Commander Service Award.

Upon completion of her military service, Ms. Haynes formed The Legal Group, where she practiced Business Law, Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Civil Litigation.  She then served as the Chief Assistant Solicitor for the Clayton County Solicitor General’s Office.  As lead prosecutor, she prosecuted criminal offenders as well as supervised an attorney staff of (10) attorneys and (4) State Court Rooms.  She also served in the DeKalb County Solicitor General’s Office as a Senior Trial Attorney.  During her career, Ms. Haynes has litigated thousands of cases and has appeared as lead attorney in hundreds of bench and jury trials to date.  She has also successfully briefed and argued cases before both the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the Georgia Supreme Court.  Ms. Haynes transitioned into federal practice in 2010 and currently serves in leadership for a federal agency. 

Ms. Haynes is a member of the Georgia and Louisiana State Bar Associations and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, where she was chosen for their 2010 Leadership Academy.  She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is an active member of World Changers Church International where she served for years as an usher and coordinated legal training events as a leader in the Legal Resources Department.  

Ms. Haynes regularly speaks at community events on legal topics. When she is not performing legal work, she enjoys volunteering for organizations that provide free or low-cost services to the public and organizations that mentor the next generation of leaders.