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
The Language of Law
George “Corky” Plews has forged much of the state’s environmental and insurance coverage lawGeorge “Corky” Plews was still a junior associate at Baker & Daniels in the early 1980s when he became embroiled in a case that would not only mold his career but also set a precedent for the future of environmental law in Indiana. Litigating on behalf of the Indiana Audubon Society to halt the expansion of gravel mining into Eagle Creek Park, the young attorney worked to help show the impact of such activity on the waterfowl and other birds nesting in the park. With the help of the …
A Better Place
Steven Lieberman fights for the powerlessSteven Lieberman was a young teenager when his father embarked on a two-year crusade to allow group homes for people with developmental disabilities to open in the family’s Bronx community. Such inclusion was almost unheard of in the 1970s. “There was huge community opposition. People were afraid that the residents with special needs would bring down property values, that they’d pose a danger to others in the community,” recalls Lieberman, 54, of Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck in …
Music Rows
Nashville entertainment lawyer Linda Edell Howard goes to battle for clientsLinda Edell Howard was managing a fledgling rock band when she got the idea to set up a free “clinic” for entertainers in the back booth at The Stone Pony, a popular nightclub in New Jersey’s Asbury Park. On Sunday nights, musicians, managers, producers, agents and actors would bring in their legal questions and contracts and ask for Howard’s advice. “It became my office,” says Howard, who was a year out of college at the time. “For a slice of pizza and a beer, I would review …
Pillar of Strength
Widowed at 28, Judy Hamilton Morse battled her grief by going to law school. Now she’s one of Oklahoma City’s leading litigatorsWith just three years of practice under her belt and a wealthy client who could easily come across as the bad guy, Judy Hamilton Morse was worried about how the jury would respond. Even so, it was obvious that the concrete contractor being sued, a man with a fourth-grade education and no reading skills, had done a shoddy job of building a tennis court for the affluent homeowner. The court sloped so badly that a ball placed at one end would roll to the other. But she had one more thing on her …
Death Row Defender
Outspoken and caring, Monica Foster is one of the nation’s foremost death penalty attorneysIn 1985, Monica Foster opened her mail and discovered a signed death warrant. “I stood up and my knees buckled,” recalls Foster, now of Monica Foster, Esq. in Indianapolis. “And then the first time I argued for [the client] in court, the room started spinning and I thought, ‘I’m arguing for this man’s life.’ I felt like I was talking in tongues.” Now one of the nation’s most sought-after experts in death penalty litigation, Foster’s knees don’t buckle. The courtroom …
The Amazing Career of Michael Cody
From guiding billion-dollar public utility arbitrations to indicting the governor to representing Martin Luther King Jr., the Memphis attorney has done it allApril 4, 1968 was a landmark day for W.J. Michael Cody. The previous afternoon, the Memphis attorney, then in his early 30s, had met with his pro bono client, Martin Luther King Jr., at the Lorraine Motel. “I was like most people that met Dr. King,” Cody says. “I was mesmerized by the force of his commitment and persuasiveness.” He’d seen King’s unforgettable “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech at Mason Temple that evening. And, on the 4th, after Cody and his colleagues at …
The Common Man’s Lawyer
Reggie Whitten’s straightforward style results in multimillion-dollar verdicts against the kinds of companies he used to defendShortly before jury selection in Burgess v. Farmers Ins. Co., Inc., the defense lawyer told his opponent, Reggie Whitten, “I think your case is too boring and too complex, and you’re asking for too much money.” Whitten simply nodded. Later, as he questioned potential jurors in the class action, breach-of-contract case in Comanche County, he repeated his adversary’s comments. “Here’s the Achilles’ heel of my case,” he admitted. “I’ve been told it’s complex and boring. Will …
A True Gentleman
Birmingham civil defense attorney Mike Atchison believes in treating everyone with dignityDespite his illustrious career—he’s rescued mega-companies from the brink of financial disaster, defended a major airline after a highly publicized crash, and earned a reputation as one of the leading business litigators in the Southeast—the case Mike Atchison considers his most interesting revolved around, of all things, the “feather sexing” of chickens. In the late 1980s, a feed-and-seed company in Des Moines, Iowa, discovered a way to genetically breed a chicken whose gender could …
Family Law
After following in the footsteps of her parents, Ann and Ed, Kathleen DeLaney now leads the wayKathleen DeLaney’s responsible nature was evident when, as a preschooler, she accompanied her father to class at Harvard Law School. Even when the female students fussed over her, she sat quietly in the back row of the stadium-style seats and colored with her crayons. “She would make absolutely no disturbance and act in a very orderly manner, which has continued to this day,” recalls Edward DeLaney, 67. Kathleen’s parents rank among the most high-profile attorneys in Indianapolis. A …
A Sweat-Equity Kind of Job
New Orleans attorney James M. Williams hates to lose and will outwork you to make sure he doesn’tIn James M. Williams’ very first court case, when he was in fifth grade, he successfully defended February, which was accused of not pulling its weight because it was shorter than the other months. Since then, he’s only lost a single case. Fresh out of law school and a clerkship with Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Bernette J. Johnson in 1998, Williams was handling civil defense cases at a downtown New Orleans firm when, during one of his first jury trials, he “pulled out all the stops” …
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