Kirk D. Hendrick was admitted to practice law in Nevada in 1991. He is admitted to practice in all Nevada courts, the U.S. District Court for Nevada and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Kirk began his legal career in the litigation department at Jones, Jones, Close & Brown in 1991. In August 1993, he was recruited by Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa to head up a new Workers Compensation Fraud Unit in Southern Nevada. From 1993 to 1996 Kirk was the sole criminal prosecutor in Southern Nevada responsible for prosecuting claimants, employers, and medical providers suspected of workers' compensation fraud. Within its first 18 months, the Southern Nevada fraud unit saved Nevada's taxpayers almost $4,000,000 and established a 100% conviction record of over 50 criminal defendants.
In January 1996 Kirk moved to the Attorney General's Gaming Division, which provides legal counsel to the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission. In May 1998 Kirk became the Senior Deputy Attorney General for the Gaming Division's Las Vegas Office, and in May 1999 he became Chief Deputy for the statewide Gaming Division. In May 1998 Kirk also became legal counsel for the Nevada Athletic Commission. In addition to his legal duties, Kirk also assisted the Attorney General's Office with media relations throughout his tenure.
Kirk returned to private practice in May 2001 and became Of Counsel to the law firm of Jones Vargas. Kirk's practice focused on gaming matters and sports law matters, primarily boxing and mixed martial arts. Kirk helped World Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis form his own promotional company, Lion Promotions, which allowed Lewis to become one of the first active boxers to ever be licensed as a promoter. Kirk also advised Lewis' Lion Promotions in its effort to find a suitable venue for the famous Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson bout that was held in Memphis, Tennessee in June 2002.
Kirk joined Zuffa, LLC, dba Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as General Counsel in November 2002, and became Chief Operating Officer for the company in March 2003. From November 2002 to December 2008 Kirk also maintained his own private law practice with an emphasis on gaming and sports-related matters. In November 2012 Kirk was named Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Zuffa, LLC.
Approximately 6 months after the UFC organization was acquired by WME/IMG in August 2016, Kirk chose to depart the company in search of new ventures.
Copyright 2019 Kirk D. Hendrick, Esq. All rights reserved.