About Nancy Henderson
Nancy Henderson is an award-winning journalist who has published hundreds of articles in Smithsonian, The New York Times, Parade, The Wall Street Journal and other publications. The author of Sewing Hope and Able! How One Company’s Extraordinary Workforce Changed the Way We Look at Disability Today, she enjoys breaking stereotypes and often writes about people who are making a difference through their work. Over the years, she’s enjoyed listening to family stories about her grandfather, who prosecuted cases as a solicitor general in North Carolina long before she was born.
Articles written by Nancy Henderson
‘What It Means to Be a Lawyer in the 21st Century’
Four 20-something attorneys on the challenges and the future of lawOne wanted to be a biologist, another an anesthesiologist, and a third hoped to play in the WNBA. But there was something that pointed each of them to the law. For Andrienne McKay, the would-be basketball player, it was a penchant for debate and a weekly ritual of watching Matlock with her father. Medically inclined Alexandria “Allie” Jones became intrigued while binding transcripts and discussing depositions with her mother, a court reporter. “I’d always joke that doctors get sued a …
Use Mediation for Your Business Dispute
Mediation is a type of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that provides a relatively simple and straightforward process for resolving business disputes. In many business disputes, mediation is the best option by being faster, more cost-effective, and enabling creative solutions. For legal advice about using mediation to resolve disputes and avoid business litigation, talk to a mediation and ADR attorney. How Mediation Works The disputing parties and their attorneys agree on a neutral third …
New Frontier
Four immigrant attorneys talk about their paths to lawTo this day, Pablo Isaza keeps a photo on his refrigerator of his large extended family, with whom he spent every holiday when he lived in Colombia. “We were one of the first to leave, but I had some other cousins that left Colombia for the same reasons—the cartel and the dangers associated with the paramilitary groups there,” says Isaza, a personal injury and juvenile law attorney in Baton Rouge. “Since that picture, which was maybe 25 years ago, we don’t have another one of all of …
The Shakespeare Guy
The play’s the thing for Donald CapparellaIt was a two-pronged David-and-Goliath battle. Donald Capparella was defending a plastics company against a $20 million-plus lawsuit by Exxon Mobil Corp., which claimed his client had reported fake testing practices when Exxon bought the company. His client, meanwhile, was countersuing because Exxon refused to pay the balance it owed on the purchase. When the trial started in July 2003, it had produced 50,000 documents, and it was just Capparella, John Branham and Kelly Smits against a dozen or …
Getting Out of the Way
Laurie Koller helps juries draw their own conclusionsIn 2014, in the midst of a sexual assault trial, Tulsa litigator Laurie Koller listened intently as church officials struggled to explain why they failed to fire a caretaker who abused an 8-month-old boy at their day care center. Despite investigations by the police and district attorney’s office, the victim’s family declined to pursue charges to avoid toppling their church’s reputation. The perpetrator was later hired at a different church-based day care that wasn’t made aware of the …
What Property Can I Keep in a Bankruptcy?
You can keep exempt property in Chapter 7 asset liquidation bankruptcy if it qualifies for state or federal exemptions. In a Chapter 7 filing, a bankruptcy trustee liquidates non-exempt assets to pay off creditors. Common federal and state exemptions include the homestead exemption, vehicle exemption, household goods, personal property, jewelry exemptions, tools of trade, clothing exemptions, and a wildcard exemption. Financial account exemptions include retirement accounts, life insurance, …
How Massachusetts Employers Should Handle Reasonable Accommodation Requests
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers with 15 or more employees to make “reasonable accommodations” for qualified workers with special challenges to help them successfully navigate the hiring process and perform their job tasks. The Massachusetts antidiscrimination law, enacted several years before the ADA, expands this even more, to businesses with six or more employees. Accommodations can range from installing an accessibility ramp or screen reader software to …
Clean Slate
How and why to seal a criminal recordFor years, a man had been passed over for promotions at the company where he worked thanks in part to the criminal conviction he’d gotten long ago. He was unaware he could actually do something about it. Then he contacted Elena Fast. “We worked on getting that conviction sealed to allow our client to be promoted within the company,” says Fast, a criminal defense attorney. A criminal record, even for a minor crime, can haunt you for life. In New York, it bars you from living in public …
Sharing Your Shelter
The ins and outs of subleasing an apartmentYour employer just announced that he wants you to handle an out-of-town project that will last a few months. Can you sublease your apartment while you’re gone? According to Peter Schwartz, who heads the real estate practice at Graubard Miller, this is a perfectly legitimate reason to sublease your place, since you plan to return when the work gig is up. But it isn’t as simple as handing your keys over to someone else. First, you’ll need to send a written letter to your …
The Legal Concerns of Subleasing a New York Apartment
Your employer just announced that he wants you to handle an out-of-town project that will last a few months. Can you sublease your apartment while you’re gone? According to Peter Schwartz, who heads the real estate practice at Graubard Miller in New York City, this is a perfectly legitimate reason to sublease your place since you plan to return when the work gig is up. But it isn’t as simple as handing your keys over to someone else. For specialized legal advice, contact a local …
Find top lawyers with confidence
The Super Lawyers patented selection process is peer influenced and research driven, selecting the top 5% of attorneys to the Super Lawyers lists each year. We know lawyers and make it easy to connect with them.
Find a lawyer near you