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
‘I’ve Got This’
How civil rights lawyer Dana Kurtz used her legal skills to overcome a family tragedyDana Kurtz was working in her office on July 7, 2014, when the call came in. Her husband, Curt Kmiecek, a U.S. Air Force Special Operations veteran and experienced skydiver, had landed in a tree during a solo jump on the outskirts of Chicago. He was being flown by air ambulance to the nearest trauma hospital. Kurtz, a civil rights plaintiff’s lawyer and founding president of Kurtz Law Offices in Hinsdale, raced with her stepdaughter and paralegal to the hospital, praying the whole time. …
With Liberty and Health Care for All
Before petitioners in King v. Burwell challenged the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2014-2015 session (and lost), and before Republican members of Congress voted to repeal the ACA more than 60 times beginning in January 2011 (and never did), lawyers around the country were anticipating ways the ACA might bump up against existing health insurance law. William Frumkin, an employment and labor lawyer from White Plains, New York, was one of them. For Frumkin, the …
For the People
Nashville plaintiff’s attorney Kathryn Barnett is a fearless advocate for her clientKathryn Barnett had just joined Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein in Nashville when, in February 2002, news broke of a north Georgia case that seemed straight out of a Stephen King novel. Rotting corpses—334 in all, some thrown into pits, others lying on the ground, in body bags or caskets or in the open air—were found at Tri-State Crematory in the tiny town of Noble. Operator Ray Brent Marsh, at some point, and for unknown reasons, had simply stopped cremating bodies. The story …
From Idea to Success: Intellectual Property in Startups
Consider this tale of two online startups: One entrepreneur devised a clever software app; raised funds from family, friends, and outside investors; and launched his internet-based venture. But it took a lot longer to get the market acceptance he’d hoped for, and the business folded. By contrast, a young woman with a solid savings cushion bought an established customer base and took her new business online. Thanks to her low overhead, high profit margins, and innate sales skills, she became …
He Loves to Argue, Period.
The many trials (and few tribulations) of George CorbynGeorge Corbyn was working as a Legal Aid intern after completing his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, when he defended a client accused of beating his neighbor’s dog to death with a shovel. At one point in the 1971 misdemeanor trial—Corbyn’s first—the nervous lawyer-in-training glanced up to see the judge staring intently at him. Instinctively, Corbyn stood up and objected to the prosecutor’s question. “I had absolutely no idea what I was objecting …
The Conversationalist
Disciplined for talking too much in school, Kathleen Lang now uses those skills to relate to others in the courtroomWhen an Enbridge Inc. pipeline spilled nearly a million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River in July 2010—resulting in one of the costliest onshore releases in U.S. history, and prompting a major federal class action lawsuit and hundreds of individual state cases—company executives called Kathleen Lang and her colleagues at Dickinson Wright in Detroit. Chris Kaitson, Enbridge’s vice president of U.S. law and deputy general counsel, was immediately impressed with her organizational …
How To Make a Divorce Faster, Cheaper, and Easier
Divorce often conjures up images of embittered spouses fighting over every last detail of how to divide their property or using their children as pawns in a custody battle. But many divorces are handled in a calm, respectful, and even amicable manner. The key to making the divorce process easier is expressing a willingness to work through as many issues as possible without resorting to a courtroom fight. For legal guidance through the divorce proceedings, contact an experienced local divorce …
In It For the Long Haul
To be a successful child advocate, Megan Watson knows you have to develop long-term relationshipsIn 2000, Megan Watson was fresh out of law school when she volunteered through the Support Center for Child Advocates to help a 10-year-old whose mother was on death row after a murder conviction. Watson made recommendations on residential decisions, advised the girl throughout school and fought for the social services she needed. Sixteen years later, they’ve built a lasting relationship: Watson still gives the now-25-year-old woman advice, helps her fill out job applications and even helped …
The Steady Hand
Rick Norris calmly guides his clients—and his aircraft—amidst turbulenceMore than 40 years have passed since the day law student Richard L. Norris spotted a storm ahead of the Meyers Aero Commander 200D single-engine plane he was flying on the way back to Utah. He was with an Army Reserve buddy, James Curtis, and, rather than fly into the danger, Norris heeded the radar warning and made an unplanned night landing at a small airport in Iowa. “When you’re approaching the front, many times you’re able to watch the lightning activity from a very safe distance, …
In Their Shoes
Chicago immigration attorney Kai Lo helps his clients by staying true to himselfAs a teenager, Tzu-Kai Lo was frustrated by the strict, creativity-stifling education Taiwan imposed on students who passed the high school entrance exam, thereby earning the privilege of rising early, even on weekends, for memorization and quizzes lasting until 9 at night. “For many Taiwanese who were of my generation, most of our childhood consisted of exam, exam and exam,” says Lo, 38, a corporate immigration attorney at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy in Chicago. “Personal life …
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