Bill Norton focuses his practice in the area of business bankruptcy, dealing in all aspects of bankruptcy cases, creditors’ rights and insolvency. He first became familiar with the bankruptcy law from his dad, who was a noted scholar and bankruptcy judge in Atlanta, Georgia. Bill went to Vanderbilt Law School intending to practice in bankruptcy law and has done so since 1984. In his more than 30 years of practice of bankruptcy and insolvency law, Bill has represented just about every kind of client interest you can expect in bankruptcy matters. His main focus now is Chapter 11 business cases – representing debtors, secured creditors, unsecured creditors, committees and trustees.

Bill is the managing editor of Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice 3d, which is a premier 13-volume treatise on bankruptcy law published by Thompson Reuters, and he is the co-author of two handbooks, Norton Creditors’ Rights Handbook (2024 Thompson Reuters) and Bankruptcy Exemption Manual (2024 West’s Bankruptcy Series). Bill is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. He has been an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt Law School since 1999 (currently teaching Chapter 11 Reorganizations) and is a frequent speaker at seminars on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, Subchapter V, and Chapter 11. He is the institute manager of national seminars focusing on advanced bankruptcy issues sponsored by Norton Institutes on Bankruptcy Law (www.NortonInstitutes.org). Bill has written numerous manuscripts for seminar presentations, including presentations for the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, 6^th Circuit Judicial Conference, the National Association of Credit Managers, the Mid-South Commercial Laws Institute, Isaac A. Scott Bankruptcy Law Institute, Cumberland Law School Conference, Judge Joe Lee Bankruptcy Institute, the Memphis Bar Association Annual Bankruptcy Conference, Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference, North Carolina Bar Foundation Institute, Stetson Law School Institute, the Norton Bankruptcy Litigation Institutes, the Western Mountain Norton Bankruptcy Law Institute, the Conference on Finance Law, the Nashville Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, the National Business Institute, the Association of Subcontractors, Lorman Education Services, the Southeastern Business Institute, Strafford Webinars, West Legal Ed Center, and the U.S. Department of Justice Education Program.

Bill is past president and a past board member of the American Board of Certification, which certifies attorneys who specialize in the areas of creditor rights and bankruptcy law. He is a leader in the Business Bankruptcy Committee of the Business Section of the ABA and is a past chair of the Subcommittee on Individual Chapter II and Subcommittee on Documenting Bankruptcy Aspects of Business Transactions. Bill is a founder, former president and board member of the Tennessee Turnaround Management Association and is a past president and past board member of the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute.

In addition to his bankruptcy experience, Bill is an experienced mediator and arbitrator. He is a former member of the AAA Commercial Arbitration Panel, the past chair of the ADR Committee for the Nashville Bar Association, and the current chair of the Board for the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center. He is also a Tennessee Rule 31 mediator.

In addition, Bill is a member of the Nashville, Tennessee, and American Bar Associations; the American Bankruptcy Institute; the Tennessee Turnaround Management Association; the Downtown Rotary Club of Nashville; and the West End United Methodist Church.

Bar Admissions

• Tennessee, 1982

• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
• United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee
• United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee

Education

• Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., 1982
• Vanderbilt University, B.A., 1975