Brad Lowber Hendricks (born May 4, 1951 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American attorney, former President of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, and President of The Brad Hendricks Law Firm, one of the largest firms in the State of Arkansas. He is the son of Lowber Hendricks (June 28, 1923 - September 4, 1998), a prominent Arkansas attorney and Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge. Brad's decision to become an attorney is largely attributed to his father, Lowber Hendricks. His siblings are Karol Anne McNutt and Bryan Hendricks.
Education
Brad Hendricks attended Arizona State University and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1977, graduating cum laude. While in college, Brad was a member of the Delta Theta Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha (ΠΣΑ or PSA), the National Political Science Honor Society. He then attended law school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law, from which he obtained his Juris Doctor in 1980.
Legal career
The Arkansas Department of Correction
Although Brad Hendricks’ decision to become an attorney has been largely attributed to his father's influence, he did not immediately begin practice law at a law firm upon becoming a member of the Arkansas Bar Association. In 1980, after graduating from law school, Hendricks was recruited by the State of Arkansas as a Compliance Attorney to bring the Arkansas Department of Correction into compliance with legal standards announced by the United States Supreme Court in Hutto v. Finney, 437 U.S. 678 (1978). In that case, the Supreme Court determined that the practice of using punitive isolation for more than 30 days was prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Court's decision in Hutto v. Finney was significant because it was not only one of the first successful lawsuits filed an inmate against a correctional institution, but it also identified and distinguished between acceptable and unacceptable punitive measures that a prison might employ. The Hutto decision followed nearly 10 years of litigation against the Arkansas Department of Correction, during which the physical conditions of cells, guard behavior, and the diet and sleeping arrangements of inmates were scrutinized. One judge described the conditions as "a dark and evil world completely alien to the free world." Ultimately, in Hutto, the United States Supreme Court determined that the practice of using punitive isolation for more than 30 days was prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Due in large part to Brad's efforts to reform Arkansas' prison system's security, brutality, racism, inmate discipline and more than 100 medical, legal and other administrative issues, the Arkansas Department of Correction became one of the first state correctional systems to adopt standards deemed acceptable by the Hutto court and its progeny. Brad Hendricks was subsequently named the Arkansas Department of Correction Employee of the Year in 1982 and later served as the Assistant Warden of the Wrightsville Unit of the Arkansas Department of Correction.
The Haskins Law Firm
After leaving the Arkansas Department of Correction, Brad Hendricks joined the Haskins Law Firm, a multi-state law firm. During that time, Hendricks’ practice was dedicated primarily to children harmed by obstetric, neonatal or pediatric malpractice, including those children whose injuries included cerebral palsy.
The Brad Hendricks Law Firm
In 1994, Hendricks formed the Brad Hendricks Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas. At the firm's inception, The Arkansas Times predicted that, in the future, the firm would become one of interest to the business community. By 2000, the firm was recognized by Arkansas Business Weekly as one of the 25 largest firms in the State of Arkansas, with the distinction of being the largest plaintiff's firm at that time. On January 2, 2014, the firm celebrated twenty years of continued service to the Little Rock community and the State of Arkansas, during a gathering attended by employees, family, and long-time friends of Mr. Hendricks.