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
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” …
It’s Not Over Till It’s Over
How Memphis attorney David Siegel learned to never give up on a caseDavid Siegel was sitting in his office, anxiously waiting for the chancery court in Memphis to rule on one of the most controversial cases of his life, when his 10-year-old daughter Stephanie called to tell him that the local television stations were about to announce the verdict. Stunned because no one had informed him of the decision, he cringed. Stephanie said softly, “I’m sorry, Daddy.” “I then knew we had lost, but I did not know how or why,” recalls Siegel, 50, a personal injury …
Oh, the Places She’s Been!
Mary Nold Larimore treads new ground in her law practice—and her outdoor adventuresDay after day, as she scaled the craggy slopes of the Alps, Mary Nold Larimore was glad for the rigorous training she’d endured back in the U.S. To prepare for the grueling Haute Route hike from Chamonix, France, to Zermatt, Switzerland, a few times a week, the adventurous Indianapolis attorney had descended the stairs from her 33rd-floor office at Ice Miller in OneAmerica Tower. Then she climbed the 35 flights to the top of the building and started all over again. When depositions took her …
The Baroness of Bankruptcy
Jan Hayden has confirmed bankruptcy plans for casinos, oil companies—and an alligator farmOne day when Jan Hayden was a child, her mother told her, “You really have to get your anger under control.” Three months later, Hayden’s mom complimented her daughter on her newfound ability to stay calm. “How are you doing it?” she asked. “When I get really mad I go into my room and bend coat hangers,” Hayden replied. “And then I unbend them.” Hayden’s mother grinned. “So that’s why all the coat hangers are coming apart.” Hayden uses the same technique today—just …
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