John W. Norman

Email: jwn@nemw.com
Cell Phone: 405-627-1100

Oklahoma City personal injury trial attorney John W. Norman is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, a group of 100 of the top plaintiff lawyers in the United States. Invited to join the Inner Circle for his outstanding result in trial and on appeal in Lee v. Volkswagen, 1986 OK 48, 688 P.2d 1283, Norman said, “Being able to share experience, skill and knowledge with other Inner Circle members is like being in a national law firm with 100 lawyers.” The Lee case established in Oklahoma the law of crashworthiness, which holds a car manufacturer responsible for injury or death caused by a vehicle defect. Tom Lee, a 16 y/o paralyzed from the neck down, received compensation for his damages, and the new law encourages manufacturers to provide better protection in crashes. Earlier, Norman had won at trial and on appeal Fields v. Volkswagen, 1976 OK 106, 555 P.2d 48, where the ignition locked the steering wheel in operation. Fields also established a number of new laws to hold manufactures responsible. Mr. Norman says, “The law is never settled until it’s settled right.”

John W. Norman was born on February 18, 1944 in Duncan and raised in Temple, both in the “shortgrass country” of Southwestern Oklahoma. He received his education from the University of Oklahoma, B.A., 1966 and LL.B., cum laude, 1968. Mr. Norman was admitted to practice in Oklahoma,1968, and to the United States District Courts of Oklahoma. In 1972, Mr. Norman was admitted to the United States Supreme Court.

Memberships: Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Federal and American (Vice Chairperson, Section of Tort and Insurance Practice, Committee on Aviation and Space Law, 1986-1987) Bar Associations; Oklahoma Association For Justice President, 1980 (formerly known as the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association); American Association for Justice, formerly known as The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Parliamentarian, 1974-1978; Secretary, 1980-1981; Treasurer, 1981-1982; Chairman, Home Office and Budget Committee, 1982-1984; Chairman, State Development Fund Board, 1985-1986); International Academy of Trial Lawyers; Inner Circle of Advocates (Vice President, 2001-2003; President, 2003-2005); American College of Trial Lawyers.

Biography: Order of the Coif. Member, Oklahoma Law Review, 1966-1968. Author: “Jury Analysis for the Plaintiff,” Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education, 1971; “Trial Techniques-Opening Statements for the Plaintiff,” Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education, April 1972; “Trial Techniques-Closing Statements for the Plaintiff,” Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education, April 1972; “Availability and Use of FAA Aircraft Airmen and Accident Record,” ABA National Institute on Small Aircraft Accident Legislation, 1974; “Crashworthiness Update, Law and Techniques,” ATLA Annual Convention, Chicago, Illinois, 1985; “Discovery & Admissibility of Government Records and Depositions of Personnel in Aircraft Accident Cases,” ABA Third National Institute on Litigation in Aviation, 1984 and ATLA Annual Convention, Seattle, 1984. Member, Governor’s Advisory Committee, 1976. Vice-President, 1986-1987 and President, 1987-1988, Oklahoma Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Mr. Norman is also listed as an Oklahoma “Super Lawyer”, and rated AV – the highest rating by the Martindale peer review system.