By Daniel Brasington ’25
More than 40 years ago, the Hon. Mark Hayes ’80 chose to pursue a career in the law because he wanted to make a difference. In August, he was honored for a career focused on that goal.
During the 2024 Annual Convention of the South Carolina Association for Justice, Hayes received the Matthew J. Perry Public Service Award for his more than 21-year career as a circuit court judge and for the establishment of a statewide Law Day Essay Contest, now named in his honor.
“During his long career of public service, Judge Hayes has exhibited a keen intellect and diligent work ethic that has earned him the highest respect from lawyers across the state,” says Tom Killoren Jr., president of the SCAJ, who presented Hayes with the award. “We will long reap the rewards of his work with the Law Day Essay Contest and the way it cultivates civic responsibility and respect for the role of the judiciary in our great democracy. It’s fitting that he received this award named for the Hon. Matthew J. Perry, who was the first Black judge from the deep south to be appointed to the federal bench.”
“I am in awe of the legal profession,” Hayes says. “A legal education is a privilege that comes with great responsibility. I believe that the members of the legal profession are truly soldiers of democracy.”
Hayes did not intend to pursue a profession in law when he came to Wofford. He credits his professors for challenging his curiosity and pushing him to think critically. Hayes says Wofford also fostered his desire to give back to the community and make Spartanburg a better place for future generations.
“Being a lawyer or a judge is more than just a job that you go to,” says Hayes, who established the essay contest 14 years ago to encourage civic responsibility in local youth. “You become a public citizen and have a duty to use your professional status to benefit the lives of others. The writers of these essays come from a variety of backgrounds and are learning the importance of the rule of law.”
More than 1,500 high school students have participated in the Honorable J. Mark Hayes II Law Day Essay Contest, and through the contest, the South Carolina Bar Association’s Senior Lawyers Division has awarded more than $55,000 to essay winners.
“When I was given the Matthew J. Perry Public Service Award, there was a gentleman in the audience who made an effort to come up to tell me that he had been a participant in the essay contest,” Hayes says. “He thanked me for my work with the contest, saying how much it meant to him, which meant a lot to me.”
According to Hayes, the contest inspires students to join the legal profession and assists some through difficult circumstances. He recalls one especially impactful essay written by a ninth grader from Barnwell, South Carolina. Hayes traveled to the student’s high school to present the award and a $500 check. The student handed the check to his mother and said it could help with rent that month.
The Perry award is the latest in a career of honors for Hayes. In 2018, the South Carolina Association for Justice gave him the Outstanding Contribution to Justice Award, and in 2011, he was presented with the Justice Claude A. Taylor Distinguished Service Award by the Spartanburg County Bar Association. He has written essays on the profession, presented at conferences, worked with students pursuing legal research and mentored students who have interned and clerked in his office. In 2017 Hayes established the J. Mark Hayes II Endowed Scholarship Fund at Wofford to support students planning to pursue careers in the law or public service.
Hayes continues to give back to Wofford and the community. He will join a panel of judges on Wofford’s campus for Constitution Day on Monday, Sept. 16.