Andy Henderson was raised in Arcadia, California, and graduated from Arcadia High School in 1975.  By 1981, Henderson had received both his Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree from Santa Clara University and his Master of Business Taxation degree from the University of Southern California.

Before to entering law school at age 30, Henderson spent years helping to develop Bald Head Island, a remote barrier island and the tip of Cape Fear off the coast of North Carolina.  Bald Head Island has no bridge; and it remains accessible only by boat and barge traversing the mouth of the Cape Fear River.  The construction and operational logistics were tough; but progress was delayed more by legal and regulatory hurdles than it was by the river.  Henderson went to law school to learn how to overcome land use and development legal challenges as quickly and as surely as possible.