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
For Better or Worst-Case Scenario
How filing for bankruptcy affects your spouse—and doesn’tBankruptcy attorney Michael Koplen of Koplen Law Firm likens a personal bankruptcy filing to “a geometric math problem. Everything has to fit together exactly right. Every detail counts,” he says. “What goes into that petition has a definite effect on every single asset and every single debt that the person has.” So how does your spouse fit into that equation? The good news is that in most cases, they don’t, especially if the credit card balance or other debt is in your …
Persistence Pays Off
How to get your Social Security disability benefits—even if you’ve been turned downWhile employed as a mechanic, a client of Shivam Patel’s developed an autoimmune condition that attacked his soft tissue, muscles and organs, including his heart. On the transplant list for decades, he eventually became unable to work and relocated to the Carolinas to live with his daughters while awaiting the results of his Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application. Unfortunately, the moves only complicated the process. After two denials, says Patel, a solo attorney in …
Gray Divorce
Tips for couples calling it splitsville after 50Divorce is difficult at any age, but those over 50 can face extra complications. The breadwinner could be hit with a spousal support obligation extending well into retirement. Or a spouse might need to reenter the workforce, or find a job for the first time, in a world where many companies hesitate to hire older workers. And, of course, there’s the emotional toll of losing a long-term relationship. “The financial realities are a lot larger when you’re older,” says Pasquale J. Crispo of …
‘If You Want to Be a Lawyer, Go Be One’
Five Missouri attorneys reflect on the past two decades of life and lawTo celebrate the 20th issue of Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, we caught up with five former cover subjects: José Bautista (2018), James Cooling (2005), Don Downing (2012), Todd Graves (2017), and Susan Ford Robertson (2014). Robertson, an appellate attorney in Kansas City, Missouri, is still having the time of her life. So is her father, who practices trial law at the age of 88. “My dad told me, ‘Do something that makes you want to get up, jump out of bed and can’t wait to see the …
What To Do if Your Social Security Disability Benefits Get Denied
While employed as a mechanic, a client of Shivam Patel’s developed an autoimmune condition that attacked his soft tissue, muscles and organs, including his heart. On the transplant list for decades, he eventually became unable to work and relocated to the Carolinas to live with his daughters while awaiting the results of his Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application. Unfortunately, the moves only complicated the process. After two denials, says Patel, a solo attorney in New York …
What Should You Look for in an Employment Contract?
Look for clarity about your base salary, signing bonus, restrictive covenants, and termination clauses in your employment contract. An employment contract should describe your job duties, the scope of employment, compensation structure, non-compete clauses, benefits package, and separation agreement. Workers without a contract have at-will employment with no term of employment or severance pay rights. Employers often have confidentiality agreements and non-disclosure terms to protect …
Point of Fact
Daniel Gomez marries facts with storytelling as counsel for his Native American clientsDaniel Gomez had only been out of law school a few years when his skills were put to the test in one of the most complex cases of his career. He and his colleagues filed a breach of trust lawsuit on behalf of the Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims alleging the U.S. government had mismanaged the tribe’s assets, leaving an environmental disaster on the reservation from indiscriminate lead and zinc mining. At one point during discovery, opposing counsel scheduled what …
The Fine Print
How to avoid a software licensing nightmareWhile counseling a client who was considering acquiring another company, Nicholas Hasenfus, an attorney with Holland & Knight, discovered a big problem: The about-to-be-purchased business believed it owned key business software, which it paid about $2 million to develop. “We looked at the contract with that developer, and it said, No. 1, the developer owns everything and No. 2, the provider is not permitted to sublicense or use the software except for internal business purposes,” …
The Rights and Wrongs of Termination
Employment attorneys discuss what wrongful termination means and how to avoid itWhen clients call Renee Inomata for advice, the No. 1 question she hears is: “I need to let somebody go. What are the risks involved?” Says Inomata, a former litigator who now focuses on helping employers avert mistakes as an employment defense attorney at Casner & Edwards, “A lot of what I deal with is trying to avoid a wrongful termination claim.” Simply put, wrongful termination takes place when a worker is fired for an illegal reason—violation of a state or national …
How Employers Can Avoid a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
Employers can avoid a wrongful termination lawsuit with documentation to show progressive discipline for poor performance reviews and by following policies outlined in employee handbooks and employment contracts. Employers have the right to fire workers under at-will employment unless it is wrongful termination or retaliation motivated by discrimination against a protected class. HR policies should follow legal compliance, show just cause for disciplinary action, and conduct exit interviews. …
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