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
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 …
‘A Tremendous Ability to Do Good’
A Christmas epiphany led Doucet & Associates to help people avoid evictionTroy Doucet was opening gifts with his family on Christmas Day 2013 when he felt compelled to do more. “I’ve always been focused on trying to do the right thing,” says the founder of Doucet & Associates, a small foreclosure defense and consumer protection firm in Dublin, Ohio. “I thought more about it during that day and said, ‘Maybe there’s something I can do that both gives back but also maximizes my personal abilities.’” In February 2014, Doucet, now 36, a former mortgage …
The Last Word
Memphis lawyer Bruce McMullen connects with juries—and helped bring the Grizzlies to townBruce McMullen was nervous—and, as usual, over-prepared. Despite his associate status at Thomason Hendrix in Memphis, he was serving as lead counsel on his first medical malpractice trial, a position generally reserved for partners. During the weeklong court proceedings in 2002, as he defended a doctor accused of failing to diagnose a kidney condition that led to a patient’s death, McMullen relied on what would become his “secret sauce”—the ability to relate to jurors from all types …
Half a Century and Counting
An oral history of attorneys who have been practicing since the 1950sFor a handful of Missouri and Kansas attorneys, the evolution of the legal profession isn’t something to be studied—it’s something they’ve lived through. Crank-style mimeographs and carbon-copy letters have given way to email and instant messages. The practice of law has become more complicated, forcing many to specialize after cutting their teeth as generalists. And female and minority colleagues, once rare, now make up a sizeable percentage of the office population. These veteran …
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