Greenville, South Carolina, native Knox Livingston Haynsworth Jr., a prominent attorney and an advocate for fighting children’s cancer, died May 7 at age 91.

Haynsworth was noted for representing companies against labor unions attempting to organize employees, said Homer L. Deakins, who worked with Haynsworth from 1966 until 1972.

Haynsworth graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1959 and passed the state bar the same year. That was just as labor law was heating up in the Southeast, including Greenville, which was then known as the textile capital of the world. 

His clients included Daniel Construction Co., which became part of Fluor Daniel, and textile giant Deering Milliken Co., which became Milliken & Co.

Haynsworth represented clients outside of textiles and construction, as well. These included the Medical University of South Carolina, which hired him at a rate of $50 an hour in 1968 to stifle the organizing efforts of Charleston hospital workers. Their union was known as District 1199B, said Leon Fink, Ph.D., a specialist in American labor history, which was the 1199 National Health Care Workers’ Union’s first attempt at incorporating a district outside of New York City.

Beyond his work in the field of law, Haynsworth established Clement’s Kindness Fund for the Children at the Community Foundation of Greenville to assist children fighting cancer and other serious blood disorders. He formed the organization in 2002 to honor his son Clement, who died at age 24.

Since its inception, the charity has provided more than $2 million in financial assistance to patient families and over $3.5 million in hospital programs, services, and upgrades, according to the foundation’s website. 

Haynsworth began his career with the Haynsworth law firm – founded by his grandfather in 1887 in Greenville. During his career, his practice included different areas of labor and employment law: labor relations, employment, occupational safety and health, workers' compensation, environmental, toxic torts, and products liability.

In 1972, Haynsworth was a founding partner of Haynsworth Baldwin Johnson and Greaves in Greenville, a prominent Southeastern employment and labor law boutique firm. 

In 2004, Haynsworth Baldwin Johnson and Greaves joined with Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart to form one of the largest labor law firms in the country. The combined company had 21 offices, 250 attorneys and 550 employees.

Today, Ogletree Deakins has 60 offices spread around the globe, with more than 1,100 attorneys.

Haynsworth served as president of the South Carolina Bar during the 1983-‘84 term. He was also a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference and past president of the Greenville County Bar.