Victor Henderson is an accomplished business trial lawyer.  He founded Henderson Parks, a litigation boutique, after leading the Chicago office of an Am Law 100 firm.

Trial Practice and High-Profile Representations

Mr. Henderson is among a handful of lawyers who represent clients in civil and white-collar cases in Chicago that garner widespread media attention, including in WGN, WTTW, NBC, ABC, CBS, the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chicago Lawyer, the ABA Journal, and The American Lawyer.

Mr. Henderson’s clients have included Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, athletes, elected officials, and the nation’s oldest black sorority.  He has tried dozens of cases, in state and federal court, before juries and judges, and has regularly obtained multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements and favorable defense outcomes in complex cases on behalf of companies.  He recently represented the president of a foreign nation in a series of proceedings brought by a political challenger. He also represented a former NBA player who was vindicated by a federal jury on charges of health care fraud.

Leadership and Recognition

Mr. Henderson has held a number of leadership positions, including terms as: the Chairman of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms; the President of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation; the Financial Secretary of the Cook County Bar Association; the Executive Partner in Charge of the Chicago Office of Holland & Knight; and President of the 22,000-member Chicago Bar Association.  He hosted Unspoken, a public affairs television program on the local CBS affiliate.  He has received numerous accolades and awards, including the CCBA Ida B. Platt Award and is a member of the CCBA Hall of Fame.

Early Career

Mr. Henderson began his legal career in Chicago as a lawyer for Phelan, Pope & John, then one of the leading trial law firms in Chicago.  While there, he practiced complex commercial litigation, product liability, and pro bono criminal litigation. Mr. Henderson joined Florida-based Holland & Knight and ultimately served as the Executive Partner of the Chicago office. 

Mr. Henderson was an undergraduate at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He started his professional career as a certified public accountant and spent two years practicing at what is now PricewaterhouseCoopers. He attended law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

  • Sheryl J. Willert Pioneer Diversity Award from the Defense Research Institute
  • Vanguard Award presented by Chicago Bar Association
  • Justice Award from Kennedy-King Community College
  • Ida B. Platt Award presented by the Cook County Bar Association
  • C.F. Stradford Award presented by former Cook County State’s Attorney Richard A. Devine
  • Heman Sweatt Award presented by the National Bar Association

  • Mr. Henderson is an active member of the bar and sat on the John Marshall Law School Board of Trustees. He has served as a past president or chairman of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, and the 22,000-member Chicago Bar Association.
  • Mr. Henderson’s current and past appointments include: the Bi-Partisan Federal Judicial Commission as appointed by U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, the Illinois Community College Board as appointed by Governor Pat Quinn, and the Justice Advisory Council as appointed by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.