“My students probably don’t realize that I was one of them back in the day; just another guy in jeans and a T-shirt,” Henderson said. “Whatever I’ve accomplished, I’ve accomplished through learning and effort, not an innate ability. I have average ability.”
Though some may credit this statement to Henderson’s well-known modesty, most of what the professor says, according to “The National ?Jurist,” is reliable.
“When it comes from Henderson, no one is about to dismiss it out of hand,” according to the article announcing the rankings.
Since coming to IU in 2003, Henderson’s dedication to studying how the legal profession works and how legal education is structured has led to him being one a well-respected voices in debates on the changing legal world.
After spending the last two years as first runner-up on the list published annually by the trade magazine, Dean Austen Parrish said it was about time Henderson rose to the top.
“The work that Bill does is really important because there’s only a small number of people studying exactly how the legal profession works and changes,” Parrish said. “How can we, as educators, figure out how to prepare students to become leaders in the field unless we know what’s really happening in the field?”
To describe his methods of teaching, Henderson said to think of students as phones. You have your grandmother’s dial-up phone versus the new iPhone you got for Christmas. They can both make calls, but one of them is equipped with tools to help with all kinds of other needs. Similarly, lawyers need to have a multidisciplinary approach to solve today’s problems, he said.
Henderson said he wants to make smart phones.
“Lawyers disproportionately make up the world of leaders and law bears on every aspect of the human condition,” he said. “As the world gets more complicated and globalized, I want my students to be prepared to become the problem-solvers. A lot rests on the intellectual value and character of lawyers.”
Randall Shepard, former Indiana Chief Justice and current visiting professor at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law, also made the list at No. 15.
“It feels good to know that I’m making a contribution that’s recognized by my peers,” Henderson said. “I really couldn’t have done it without the support I get from Indiana University, so it’s an accolade to the school as much as it is to me.”
The new title confirms what Maurer student Peter Robbins already knew about the well-liked professor: “He is kind of a big deal.”
