Debra Norwood is an attorney/peacebuilder who is a certified joyologist, resilience trainer, writer, motivational speaker and certified brain health coach for attorneys and professionals. Her passion is psychoneuroimmunology, and she loves to share the good news about the neuroplasticity of the brain and how attorneys can protect their most valuable asset: their cognitive ability.
She has designed an unconventional conflict resolution model that incorporates principles of mindfulness, brain health, and therapeutic humor and laughter to help acquire trust-building, anger management and conflict resolution skills. She calls this model Humor for Peace and created this model to enhance attorney’s leadership abilities and help them to become more empathic and mindful in every aspect of their dealings with the courts, opposing counsel and clients. It is a program designed to empower lawyers to more joyfully connect with one another with authenticity, integrity, and with humor, in order to build trust in the system they co-create through their interactions with the public and one another.
Concerned about the rising depression and suicide rates among attorneys, Debra and her attorney husband, Dan Norwood, are co-authoring a book The Resilient Lawyer: Overcoming Challenges and Finding Joy in Modern Day Law Practice.
Known as “Laughter Lawyer USA,” Debra often sports a red nose and a bee bonnet to keep her audiences laughing as she goes about the serious business of helping them confront their challenges with grace and humor. Her transformation from a traditional lawyer to a zany advocate for her unorthodox conflict resolution ”playground” was part of a lengthy evolution that was precipitated by the suicide of one of the Norwood Law Firm’s clients over twenty years ago. His untimely death led Debra and her husband Dan to create a more holistic law firm grounded in principles of Positive Psychology. As a Certified Joyologist, Certifie Laughter Leader Expert Level Practitioner with the World Laughter Tour (CLL-E) and as a Certified Humor Professional (CHP) with the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH), Debra is an expert on helping improve mood, memory, staying focused, and keeping optimistic. She mentors law firms, organizations and individual attorneys in team building, trust building and stress reduction in ways that are simple, quick and fun, and which help avoid burnout, hurtful habits and addictions.
As a facilitator for a church-based addiction recovery program, she has the skills and compassion to coach those who need an extra emotional boost to overcome debilitating habits and addictions. As a family law attorney and juvenile court practitioner, Ms. Norwood also has extensive experience with domestic violence and abuse and understands many of the underlying trauma and mental health implications that affect client’s abilities to navigate their cases. Her dream is to transform the legal environment into a more restorative one in which all lawyers, Guardian ad Litem’s, judges, social workers, and law enforcement personnel can become effective change-makers and co-creators of a transformative ecosystem that fosters healing true reformation and peace.
Ms. Norwood is the mother of four and has raised seven children, three of which are special needs. She is married to Dan Norwood, an employment and public interest lawyer from Memphis, Tennessee. She currently serves on the board of Human Friends International, a humanitarian organization that lobbies for interfaith harmony and to end gender discrimination and child labor in Pakistan. She is a former International Humanitarian Law Instructor for the Mid-South Chapter of the American Red Cross and has served as counsel for the Native American Inter-tribal Association and the Memphis Hispanic Chamber. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Attorney Wellness Committee of the Hispanic National Bar Association, and Southeast Regional Director for the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. She also serves on the Board of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor as Director of Diversity and Inclusion.
For more information on the six week coaching program “Couragekeepers: Brain Health for Lawyers”, or to schedule a workshop on stress reduction, peacebuilding, creative thinking and change-making or contact her through her email: debra@debranorwood.com or via LinkedIn at Debra Chaves Norwood. For information on her studies on peacebuilding and humor see www.humorforpeace.com
Dan and Debra are concerned about the rising levels of depression and suicide among law practitioners. Rising levels of stress, addictive behaviors and anger management issues are eroding the foundations of traditional law practice.
It is time to change the paradigm and rock the legal world with transformative law principles which will enhance the longevity of those whom the public depend on. It is for this reason that Laughter Lawyer USA and the Baby Boomer Advocate propose the creation of LLC’s all across the bar associations, lawyers assistance programs, law schools and law firms across the nation.
These are not merely corporations! They are Laughter Lawyer Clubs where attorneys can meet to laugh, destress, and enjoy each others company in a non judgemental, relaxed, and fun-filled environment. Imagine what one hour a week of laughing, camaraderie, and mindfulness training could do to improve morale, reduce stress, enhance productivity and help the immune system!
To find out how to create a Laughter Lawyer Club with your group, contact Laughter Lawyer USA today!
