Tracy L. M. Norton

Associate Professor of Professional Practice

Professor Tracy L. M. Norton, a national and international leader in the fields of legal writing and legal education, joins us from LSU. She started her career in academia in 1997. Prior to teaching, Norton practiced criminal law in Texas for four years. She majored in political science at the University of North Texas before earning her juris doctor from Baylor University School of Law in 1994. Norton is best known for her research and presentations on cross-generational competence in legal education and the legal profession. Among her contributions to the field of legal writing are her Interactive Citation Workbook (formerly with co-author Prof. Christine Hurt) and accompanying online Workstation, published originally in 1999. The ICW was the first digital teaching tool in widespread use in American law schools and is currently used in more than half of American law schools. A longtime member of the Legal Writing Institute, Professor Norton served two four-year terms on its Board of Directors. Her current scholarly interest is using principles of storytelling from other disciplines like poetry and songwriting to develop compelling legal narratives. Her current teaching interest is making legal education more accessible through digital platforms. In addition to her classroom teaching, has taught both synchronous and asynchronous law courses since 2010. She has also developed a fully online pre-law legal analysis program for students interested in attending law school. Norton is currently creating a digital textbook for 1L legal analysis and writing courses. During the 2020 pandemic, she assisted faculty throughout the country in adapting to asynchronous and synchronous online course delivery.