Terrance A. Norton currently serves as the director of the Center for Open
Government, which is housed in the Chicago-Kent Law Offices. He and Chicago-Kent law
students advise and represent citizens who seek legal assistance in bringing about
government transparency and accountability.
Before joining the Chicago-Kent Center for Open Government, Director Norton was the pro
bono partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, where he was responsible for
directing the firm's national pro bono program. Prior to his tenure at Sonnenschein,
he served as executive director of the Better Government Association, a Chicago
government watchdog organization. During the 1990s, he was a clinical professor and
faculty member at Chicago-Kent.
Upon graduation from law school, he was named an Honor Law Graduate by the U.S.
Department of Justice and served as a special attorney in the Department of
Justice's Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, in both the Pittsburgh and
Chicago Strike Forces. He also served as deputy chief of the Chicago Strike Force. After
his Department of Justice experience, he served as general counsel and assistant director
of the Better Government Association, where he co-authored Official Corruption &
Misconduct in Cook County: Legal Definitions, Standards of Conduct, Existing Remedies
& Enforcement Agencies: Report to the Chicago Ethics Project (Better Government
Association 1987) (with L. Shimkus), and as a trial attorney with Pretzel & Stouffer
Chtd. in Chicago.
Director Norton received his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and
his law degree from DePaul University, where he was managing editor of the DePaul Law
Review.
Ethics and Professional Responsibility
