Indianapolis, July 31, 2003 - Even during the offseason, Sonja Henning is caught spending much of her time in court. The Fever point guard also works as a labor lawyer as well as the President of the WNBA players’ union. One may find Henning practicing law in Portland, OR, where she is an associate with a law firm.

While helping Stanford win the 1990 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships, Henning had her mind set on becoming an attorney. Since there was no women’s pro basketball league in the United States at the time, she took a four-year hiatus from basketball to attend Duke University law school.

“It was never my dream to be a professional basketball player,” she said, “so, by the time I entered law school I was ready to move on to the next chapter of my life.”

The Racine, WI, native first discovered her love for basketball in junior high, where a coach encouraged the young Henning to focus on basketball and look for scholarships that could lead to college. At about the same time, law also caught Henning’s attention.

“That was about the time that people start asking, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ and for me it was always being an attorney,” said Henning. “It was something that I was always interested in - knowing the laws, knowing your individual rights and liberties.”

Only a few years after law school the newly formed American Basketball League came calling. A partner at Henning’s Los Angeles firm, Tonkin-Torp, encouraged her to attend the ABL tryouts in Atlanta. The five-day tryouts brought in 500 other women hoping for a chance to play pro basketball. Soon after, Henning received the call: she was a member of the San Jose franchise.

And so her double life began.

“It’s one of those things in your life where you have just a short window of opportunity to play,” she said, “and it was something that I wanted to do.”

The law firm stood behind Henning as she began to pursue her second career. During the season, Henning was able to take a leave of absence from the law firm, the support from which gave Henning the confidence she needed to believe she could play basketball again.

“It was more than I could have expected, and because they were so fabulous about it, I began to think maybe I could play again,” said Henning.

Since her debut in pro basketball, Henning has moved to the Portland law firm of Littler-Mendelson, which also supports her playing career.

“It’s a great situation, and it’s something that I know is short-term,” said Henning. “The firm has been so supportive and I appreciate that because they know I’ll be a lawyer longer than I will be a basketball player.”

While she is able to take time away from the court system to join other women on the basketball court, there are times when the balancing act is tough.

“It’s an interesting balance,” Henning said. “The times that it gets a little hairy is when I’m getting ready for the season, so January through April I’m also in the midst of practicing law, and that’s when I don’t have enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.”

Among the things Henning has trouble finding time for is planning a wedding to her long-time fiancée. Though she isn’t sure when the time may come once again to retire her jersey and high tops, Henning looks forward to the next step.

“I’m getting to a point in my life where I’m ready to start another chapter, and I look forward to that next chapter of my life,” said Henning. “I got engaged to a gentleman that I met at law school, and when I have more time I will sit down and plan a wedding and start a family. Those are the sorts of things that I’m ready to do, and part of the reason why I’m ready to move on.”

Once again, the next chapter of Sonja Henning’s life doesn’t appear to have a place for basketball, but if the opportunity arose to combine her dual careers, Henning wouldn’t rule it out.

“It (basketball) is like one of those things,” she said. “Can you ever walk away?”