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 Duty to Be a Voice
Alfredo Estrada fights for those born into challenging situationsAs the son of a Mexican immigrant, Alfredo Estrada grew up with an awareness of those seeking asylum and better economic conditions in the U.S., but the topic never dominated dinner table conversation. “We really didn’t talk about it,” says Estrada, a partner at Burke Costanza & Carberry in Merrillville, where he co-chairs the firm’s immigration practice group. “When you live in it, you don’t know what you don’t know. My father was a good father and shielded us from his …
(How Not to Go) Up in Smoke
Getting into the cannabis industry might not be as easy as you thinkThe Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, legalizing recreational marijuana statewide, went into effect January 1, but cannabis attorney Bryna Dahlin has a word of caution for those considering opening a cannabis business: “Be prepared to expect the unexpected.” “This is an industry that is changing fast, day by day, week by week,” says Dahlin, a partner at Chicago’s Benesch Law. “So if you are someone that is more comfortable with certainties and with issues being black and …
Illinois Cannabis Business: Laws To Know for Startups
The Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, legalizing adult-use of recreational marijuana statewide, went into effect January 1, 2020, but cannabis attorney Bryna Dahlin has a word of caution for those considering opening a cannabis business: “Be prepared to expect the unexpected.” “This is an industry that is changing fast, day by day, week by week,” says Dahlin, a partner at Chicago’s Benesch Law. “So if you are someone that is more comfortable with certainties and with issues …
Class in Court
Educating law students—and juries—sharpens Ed Walters’ courtroom skillsIn 1979, three years into his career, Edward J. Walters Jr. was serving as second chair in a lawsuit against a Baton Rouge utility company when senior partner Charles Moore allowed him to deliver the most crucial evidence in the case. Their 18-year-old client had sustained brain damage when the long-poled aluminum rake he was using to groove the pavement on Greenwell Springs Road accidentally touched a power line. His injuries included intention tremors that flared when he concentrated on even …
The A-Plus Team
James Waide is a liberal Vietnam vet, Rachel Waide is a Reagan-loving conservative; together, they are Mississippi's most dynamic legal coupleAs the air conditioning struggles to keep up with a 93-degree summer afternoon in Tupelo, 72-year-old Jim Waide and his wife and legal partner, Rachel Pierce Waide, 43, head into the conference room of their unimposing law firm. Jim wears khakis and a casual shirt, which goes with his laidback demeanor and a drawl so deeply Southern even folks from Dixie struggle to understand. Rachel is dressed in a crisp business suit, black hair perfectly styled and a beauty-queen-worthy smile lighting up …
Making Pigs Fly
When it comes to truck accident litigation, Morgan Adams takes the cases others pass byOn a shelf behind Morgan Adams’ desk, next to the tall can of Whoop Ass energy drink, sits a cobalt blue ceramic pig with wings he bought on the Arizona-Mexico border while researching a case involving a trucking accident. His client was a young woman whose family had been told she would never be compensated for her injuries, which included catastrophic brain injury. “That’s one of the things I’m proudest of,” says the Chattanooga attorney, pointing to the small, stout-bodied …
Righting Wrongs
The Choctaw Nation’s Michael Burrage makes opioid producers payBetween 2007 and 2017, 4,653 Oklahomans unintentionally died from prescribed opioids. According to the state, more overdose deaths in Oklahoma involve prescription opioids than all illicit-drug deaths combined. And the numbers are similar across the nation. In turn, many firms are suing opioid makers over accusations of creating widespread addiction. But Michael Burrage thinks his firm, Whitten Burrage, is working harder than the rest. And he has the receipts to prove it. “Our people are …
Defining “Appropriate”
How parents can advocate for the education of a child with special needsLong before she became a special education attorney, Adrienne Arkontaky of Cuddy Law Firm discovered firsthand how much effort it takes to advocate for a child with special needs. When her daughter Jordan, who is blind and has severe cognitive and physical disabilities, started school, Arkontaky took it upon herself to read up on federal and state regulations affecting her child. She scoured Jordan’s formal evaluations to make sure they were correct and networked with other parents. …
Classifying the Misclassified
When should an independent contractor be considered a fulltime employee?Earlier this year, an editor at Epicurious, a Condé Nast food publication, triggered a firestorm when he tweeted a job post for a “fulltime freelance” editorial assistant who would work 40 hours a week. Two days later, amid growing outrage on Twitter, the editor clarified that the new hire would, after all, receive fulltime benefits. Consider it a sign of the times. The IRS estimates that U.S. employers have misclassified millions of workers, sometimes in error, but often to avoid paying …
The Laws Dealing with Special Education in New York
The laws dealing with special education in New York include FAPE, IEP, LRE, IDEA, NY Part 200, and Section 504. FAPE provides Free Appropriate Education, IEP is for Individualized Education Program, and LRE is for educational placement in the least restrictive environment. The federal IDEA, Section 504, and NY Parts 200 provide free special education services for students with disabilities in public school districts or tuition reimbursement if free education is not available. Procedural …
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