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
'Once You Get Hit, All the Nervousness is Gone'
Bullfighting taught Karl Rutledge the art of quick decision-makingIn the late 1990s, in Karl Rutledge’s first tryout as a rodeo bullfighter, the stock contractor—a mountain of a man who resembled John Wayne—ordered Rutledge to stand on a spot marked with an X in the dirt. “Don’t move,” the contractor instructed. Rutledge did as he was told, only to be knocked off his feet by the first bull charging out of the gate. His potential boss was so impressed he hired him on the spot, saying, “I never thought you’d stay put.” Rutledge, now chair of …
When and How To Do an Internal Investigation
Conflict between employers and employees is common. For businesses and organizations, a proactive approach to handling any employment law dispute can make an enormous difference. Employers should never underestimate the importance of properly conducted internal investigations. The following provides insights for businesses considering an internal investigation after current or former employee complaints, government inquiries, or allegations of misconduct. For more information about conducting a …
My Land, Your Land
Five attorneys tell their stories of immigrating to the U.S.After visiting the U.S. as a tourist at a young age, Jazmin Alagha distinctly recalls jumping up and down on the bed with her sisters in Guanajuato, Mexico, pretending they could speak English. “We would just say gibberish [that meant], ‘One day, we’re going to live in the U.S.,’” she says. “My parents had their own business and their own home, so at the time it seemed completely far-fetched that one day we would leave it all behind.” The siblings’ talk wasn’t so unlikely …
Heart of a Lawyer
Jon Spiers brings surgical precision to healthcare lawThe first time he removed a patient’s damaged heart in a transplant operation, Jon Spiers felt both a rush of adrenaline and the gravity of the situation. “It will put you in your place if you’re not humble,” says the Houston healthcare attorney and former cardiac surgeon. “The cavity is not that big in itself, but you’re looking at a hole six feet deep if you don’t fill it.” As an avid bookworm who grew up in a small farm town in Georgia, Spiers read about a revolutionary heart …
Shouldering the Load
For Anitha Kumpati, pro bono immigration work is spiritual satisfactionJust a few months after she passed the Texas Bar in 2017, Anitha Kumpati took on a pro bono case: A Rwandan teacher, determined to educate his students about the country’s human rights atrocities, was arrested. Luckily, friends in the U.S. helped him get a visitor visa, and he fled. Shortly after meeting him through American Gateways—a Central Texas nonprofit that pairs willing attorneys with immigrants and refugees who have survived political persecution, torture and human …
Family First
Between Suzie’s estate planning practice, Jay’s DUI defense shop, and three kids, keeping up with the Tiftickjians is no easy taskOne morning last fall, Suzie Tiftickjian had no sooner hunkered down in her home office after the weeklong quarantine of her 11-year-old son Mark than the phone rang. Five-year-old Audrey was sick and needed to be picked up from school. “I recognized that it’s going to be a day that I don’t get a lot done, and the next day I’ll power through,” says the estate planning attorney, 49, a marathon runner with a knack for organization and time management. “There will be days where …
Constructing a Well-Built Contract
Boston construction attorneys discuss what to look for—and look out forRecently, a Boston business owner found himself too busy to keep after his contractor, who’d dropped the ball in the final stages of a construction project. “It was pretty clear to me what was happening,” says Jeffrey Alitz, an attorney with Freeman Mathis & Gary. “The contractor started not showing up as much, missing weeks on end of not being on the site, and the schedule was starting to get off track—all signs that the contractor was looking to do other work.” Alitz’s …
Helping Employees Succeed
The ins and outs of reasonable accommodationA few years ago, Boston attorney Denise Murphy represented an employer with a worker who was so sensitive to light that she requested a complete replacement of the lighting system where she worked because it impeded her vision. “That’s not really a reasonable accommodation to change the entire lighting structure of a building,” says Murphy, who chairs the employment practice at Rubin and Rudman. “But what they were able to do was provide the employee with light-sensitive glasses …
Legal Tips If You're Considering Joining a Union
In 2021, a small group of nurses who for years had been left out of the larger bargaining unit at Stanford Hospital, did what more and more disgruntled healthcare workers across the nation are doing, or at least considering: Exercising their employee rights, they held a formal election and joined a union to fight for protections against unjust termination and for better scheduling and pay. “I think those nurses did it right,” says B.J. Chisholm, managing partner at Altshuler Berzon in …
When Do You Need a Tax Attorney?
Sometimes a CPA isn’t enoughNot long after he started practicing law, Douglasville tax attorney David Wilson got a call from a certified public accountant whose dying father owed the IRS $70,000. After nearly 18 months, Wilson persuaded the IRS to agree to a compromise and reduce the debt to $25,000. “When you’re terminally ill and you can settle a debt with the IRS and save almost $45,000 to help pay for your medical bills,” says Wilson, “it’s just as valuable as $1 million. It took a while, but that’s …
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