Brad Hendricks

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.

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.

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.

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 has been a member of the Arkansas Bar Association since 1980.

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.

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.

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.

On June 21, 1999, Brad Hendricks chaired a coalition of attorneys united to challenge a ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court that limited the use of dramatizations and advertising testimonials by attorneys.

Said Hendricks, the limitation "trampled on" attorneys' rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Although Hendricks opposed the ruling that restricted attorneys' use of dramatizations and testimonials, he expressed approval of a separate restriction imposed by the Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that prohibits attorneys and law firms from contacting the families of people who have died as the result of an accident for 30 days after the accident.

"I support that moratorium," Hendricks said.

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.

In 2005, that Committee, together with the Arkansas Bar Association's House of Delegates, petitioned the Arkansas Supreme Court to revise the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct by adopting rules based on the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

Also serving on the Committee at that time were Howard Brill, a professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law and author of Arkansas Professional and Judicial Ethics and Arkansas Law of Damages, and the Honorable D. Price Marshall Jr., who is currently serving as a judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Hendricks previously served as Chair of the Tort Committee and also served as Chair of the Task Force on the Unauthorized Practice of Law.

Hendricks is also a member of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, an organization whose members are “dedicated to protecting the health and safety of Arkansas families, to enhancing consumer protections and to preserving each and every citizen’s right to trial by jury and access to the courts.” Hendricks is a past President of ATLA (2004-2005), and as of November 14, 2011, he is serving on the Legislation Committee, the Legislation Bill-Drafting Committee, the Awards Committee, and the Fundraising Committee.

Hendricks served as an elected member of the Arkansas Bar Association's House of Delegates for approximately 10 years, until he voluntarily chose not to run for re-election, at which time, he became non-voting tenured delegate, a position he retains as of March 2012.

In order to become a non-voting tenured delegate, a member must have served in the House of Delegates for at least six years.

As a non-voting tenured delegate, Hendricks may address the full House of Delegates on any issue under consideration by the House of Delegates.

Typically, only current and tenured delegates may address the full House of Delegates, unless requested to do so by special invitation.

Hendricks has also chaired several committees of the Arkansas Bar Association throughout his career.

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.

As of July 2019, he is the Chair of the Arkansas Bar Association's Professional Ethics Committee, to which he was appointed in 2004.

As of July 2019, Hendricks was one of four ex-officio advisory non-voting members of ATLA's Board of Governor's Executive Committee.

He has been included among the “Champions of Justice” for his support of ATLA on several occasions and has been recognized as a “Silver Diplomat” and “Platinum Founder,” as well as a “Ways & Means” member of ATLA due to his financial contributions to the organization.

In addition to his service to Arkansas' legal community, Hendricks has also dedicated much of his career to the protection of Arkansas consumers.