Donald Henderson doesn’t have much time to watch courtroom dramas on TV.

“I don’t watch those shows too much,” he said. “The legal system is not always important because of a grand finale where there are courtroom fireworks.”

Henderson, director of the Students’ Legal Assistance office, knows that all too well. Henderson has worked in the office for the past 23 years. The office is sponsored by the Student Association and includes one other lawyer, Lynn Richards.

“I am a registered attorney and have been since 1973,” Henderson said. “My functions here are to, first and foremost, act as a lawyer on behalf of students. There are also some administrative functions.”

Henderson said his time with students is rewarding.

“My favorite part of job is talking with our clients and acting as their lawyer,” he said. “I still find it interesting after all these years. There is something very special about the relationship between client and lawyer. There is a bond there.”

It’s the bonds Henderson forms that impress Kathi Sangster, a students‘ legal affairs office assistant.

“He is so easy to talk to,” she said. “His door is always open and he answers questions, both personal and professional.”

Henderson said getting the correct information to students is the key to what he does.

“Obviously, a lot of students encounter legal problems throughout the year and they are never worse off by having more legal information than less,” he said. “A lot of the time, if we can talk to students early enough, then we can actually help them avoid the occurrence of legal problems. That is our real objective here.”

Students have become more proactive in regards to the law, Henderson said.

“I am seeing, maybe with rose-colored glasses, more of a commitment on the part of students to use the legal system to protect themselves and to assert their rights,” he said. “I think there was a period there where students were relatively passive in using the legal system.”

The legal system has always captivated Henderson.

“My interest in the law goes way back,” he said. “I think, because of my family values and schools that I went to, that politics and questions of the country and the welfare of people were always being discussed. The law was one of the logical ways to pursue those kinds of interests and values.”

In his spare time, Henderson is working on a book that he’d rather not talk about. Besides that, he spends the rest of his free time with his family.

“Even though I’m an old geezer, I still have some pretty young kids,” he said jokingly.

His wife Judy is the director of teacher certification for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. They have four children: Elizabeth, an NIU graduate that is soon to marry, Jeff, an NIU junior, Carrie, who is in middle school, and Anna, who is in elementary school.

Sangster said Henderson will fight for anyone.

“He goes above and beyond to help,” she said. “No problem is too big or too small. He will help anybody.”u What: Students’ Legal Assistance office