Love for the law fostered at Atherton
Nov. 28, 2023—The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is an important and influential district court in the country. And now a girl born in Uruguay—and a proud alum of the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS)—sits as one of its judges, presiding over federal civil and criminal cases.
Ana C. Reyes was appointed to the bench by President Biden in February after 22 years of complex litigation experience at Williams & Connolly LLP, a prominent Washington, D.C. law firm.
She has won plaudits for her work which includes assisting refugees and representing young women persecuted in their home countries. The Hispanic Bar Association, the National Law Journal, Women’s Bar Association of D.C., and other organizations have all given Reyes prominent awards for her work.
“I always wanted to be a lawyer,” Reyes said.
Her love for the law and service was fostered by her teachers and time in JCPS at Wilder and Dunn Elementary, Crosby Middle and Atherton High Schools.
The 1996 Atherton graduate found the International Baccalaureate Program School particularly engaging and helpful for her future career.
“The International Baccalaureate Program was just phenomenal,” Reyes said. “It was very focused on reading, deep thinking and essay writing as opposed to regurgitating facts. The community service component was important, as well. I just think the rigor of the program and the type of analysis and thinking it required and encouraged me to do certainly set me up for college and then law school.”
Reyes also excelled in extracurricular activities at Atherton as a member of the Mock Trial Team, Kentucky Youth Assembly, Kentucky United Nations Assembly and the Governor’s cup team that placed second in Creative Problem Solving.
From Atherton, Reyes headed to Transylvania University and Harvard Law School, where she learned from devoted and talented professors. But it was the teachers in her younger years that laid the foundation for her success and instilled the values and lessons she uses on the federal bench today.
For instance, Mrs. Harkleroad, her first-grade teacher, spent extra time after school teaching English to her young, Spanish-speaking student. And there were also Mrs. Fox - the middle school Spanish teacher - and Mr. Walsh, and Mr. Hemaseth—high school teachers who were engaging and really pushed students to be better.
Mr. Hemaseth was a social studies teacher who frequently quoted a philosopher and then pushed his students to develop arguments that challenged the philosopher’s reasoning.
“Assessing the weaknesses of an argument, as opposed to just the strengths, has very much informed my approach as a lawyer,” Reyes said.
One of the highlights of her career came in her second year as an attorney and her first case in court. The case involved the forced mutilation of an Egyptian woman seeking asylum in the United States.
“The moment the judge issued the ruling in our favor and I looked at my client’s face – that was a highlight,” Reyes said.
Years later, being nominated to a federal judgeship is another moment she will never forget.
“Hopefully I was nominated because people thought I would be efficient, intelligent and judicious,” Reyes said. “That’s what I try to be.”
Although she has ascended to a prominent post in our country’s judiciary, Reyes remains grounded by her friends from Atherton, a handful of whom she still vacations with every few years.
She also has some words of wisdom for the students who are following in her footsteps through the classrooms of JCPS schools.
“Take advantage of excellent teachers,” she said. “I think teachers are always willing to spend extra time with students if they are asked.”
Just like those JCPS teachers did for Ana Reyes more than two decades before she became a federal judge.
By Mark Hebert