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
Direct Connection
How Jerry Glas develops his rapport with juriesBy the time John Jerry Glas got the call last spring, the pipeline owner was desperate to find an attorney willing to take a breach-of-contract case against one of the largest oil companies in the world. “My old law firm of 20 years dropped us like a hot potato because the money ran out,” says Dale Behan, who with wife Linda co-owns Lindale Pipeline, a self-described mom-and-pop operation in Texas. Other lawyers had turned them down as well. A few phone conversations later, Glas, chair of …
The Adrenaline of Breaking News
Why Amy Rao Mohan traded journalistic objectivity for legal advocacyFor one of her first assignments as a TV reporter in Lansing, Michigan, Amy Rao Mohan got permission to spend 24 hours in the county jail to interview the women there. “That was an eye-opening experience for me,” says Mohan, 41, now a business litigator at Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison in Nashville. “I really connected with them and had a lot in common with them, which I wouldn’t have suspected beforehand. I was able to tell their stories.” Mohan’s interest in journalism took …
When Does Taxation Need Legal Representation?
You’ve launched your business and hired a CPA, so you don’t need a tax attorney unless the IRS comes calling, right? Not necessarily. Waiting for a problem to arise might mean you’re waiting too long. “The time to bring in a tax attorney is early on in the discussion,” says Andrew Hochberg, who manages tax, probate and estate planning at Tamkin & Hochberg in Newton. “If you’re setting up an executive compensation program, you want your tax attorney to analyze and to …
Going It Alone
Six attorneys share the risks and rewards of a solo practiceSome attorneys are thrust into solo practice after conflicts at large firms. Others unintentionally wind up alone after a partner leaves. Still others simply pursue their dream of hanging out a shingle. “I knew what I wanted to bring to the world as a lawyer, and I think the only real way that an attorney can do that is by being in practice for themselves,” says Rachna Lien, a family law attorney in St. Louis. Though none of the six Missouri and Kansas attorneys we spoke with would claim …
The Power of Positive Thinking
Joe White’s personality can fill up a courtroomAbout a decade ago, Joe E. White Jr. was rising to deliver his closing argument against bat maker Louisville Slugger on behalf of a pitcher smacked so hard by a batted ball that it shattered the front of his face. Spotting his dad—Dr. Joe White, a well-known educator, football coach, and president of Carl Albert State College—in the front row of the courtroom, he instantly knew what to say. He confessed to the jurors that, in the second grade, he developed the habit of picking up …
Is Collaborative Divorce Best for You?
When a new client met with family law litigator Mudita Chawla a while back, the woman was adamant about one thing: That she and her divorcing husband stay out of court and salvage the friendship they’d had since they were kids. “At the end of the day,” says Chawla, “they figured out a way for the husband to refinance the apartment to get her name off the deed and the mortgage. And she kept her [bank] account, he kept his account, and we divided the assets in the joint account.” The …
How To Succeed at Succession
About 20 years ago, attorney Charles Turnbull sat watching the clock during what was supposed to be a meeting to firm up a buy-sell agreement as part of a client’s succession plan. The client had been pressing a partner to finish the paperwork and it was finally supposed to happen. But the partner never showed up. “He was in an accident on a local freeway in Detroit, coming here to the office to sign,” says Turnbull, who focuses on business and estate planning at O’Reilly Rancilio in …
Never Lose Heart
A stroke forced Margaret Moses Branch to walk in the shoes of her med-mal clientsIn 2007, Margaret Moses Branch was researching the best way to treat her dystonia, a muscle disorder that causes Parkinson’s-like symptoms. Botox treatments wouldn’t last long, and doing nothing wasn’t an option for Branch. Eventually, she decided on deep brain stimulation, a surgical procedure to implant electrodes into her brain and stop the tremors. Using the meticulous fact-gathering skills she’d developed over a quarter-century of advocating for women injured by negligent doctors, …
A Country of Immigrants
Colorado attorneys on what it means to be an immigrant practicing law in the U.S.In 2019, when Jens Jensen tried to renew his H-1B visa for another three years, he was surprised by the delays. “Normally it would take them a month,” says Jensen, a natural resources litigator who grew up in Denmark. “But because of all the cutbacks with the [Trump] administration, I ended up not getting it until several months after it had expired.” The delay posed some frustrating challenges. When Jensen returned to the U.S. after a conference in Canada, immigration officials pulled …
Making Their Mark
Five attorneys under 40 talk about their successes and their trials by fireDon’t get them started on Gen Y stereotypes. “I’ve heard stories of older generations looking at us a little differently,” says 35-year-old litigator Ryan Leagre. “If we ask for something like expanded paid parental leave, I think it’s viewed as, ‘Nothing’s ever good enough. Millennials want an open floor plan and a pingpong table in the back of the office.’ A lot of people think, ‘Oh, millennials float around and they’re always looking for greener grass.’ I don’t fit …
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