Cierra N. Norris
CEO and Founder (HBIC)
Biography
Cierra N. Norris is a Criminal Defense Attorney and founder of C. Norris Law Group, a firm dedicated to social justice.
After becoming a mother at the age of 16, Norris read a statistic stating that her son was more likely to become incarcerated as a black male born to a single mother. This was the impetus for Norris' decision to enter the legal field pushing her to not only provide better opportunities for her son, but to make a positive impact on society. Her determination was a key factor in putting herself through school to earn both her bachelor's degree and her law degree. She worked multiple jobs and waitressed in order to accomplish her educational goals.
In 2017, Attorney Norris founded C. Norris Law Group at the age of 27. She brings courage, instinct, attention to detail, and a hunger for knowledge and fact-finding to her practice. She is passionate about putting an end to mass incarceration and injustice and her practice and successes as an attorney are a testament to this. Attorney Norris humanizes criminal defense by truly connecting with her clients and is open, honest, and uses her litigation skills and knowledge of the law to bring her clients justice. She treats her clients with respect and promises to fight for them as she would for her own family.
Norris holds a Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law where she served as the school's Student Bar Association Supreme Court Justice, Student Bar Association Constitutional Committee Member, and Black Law Student Association Mock Trial Team Member. Norris' experience prior to opening her firm includes serving as a Law Clerk for the City of Chicago's Public Defender Office 711, working as Judicial Extern to the Honorable Judge Victoria A. Roberts, and working as a Criminal Intake Volunteer at Cabrini Green Legal Aid.
Having graduated from law school only a few years ago, Attorney Norris has already made a name for herself with big wins including single-handedly managing to get almost a dozen inmates freed from Cook County Jail during COVID-19, among other notable cases. Deemed with the nickname Miss Cook County, there is no limit to what she and her team will accomplish next.
Education
- DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, Illinois
- J.D.
- Honors: Appellate Moot Court Society
- Honors: Champion, Honorable William J. Bauer Competition, Chicago IL, September, 2015
- Honors: DePaul College of Law Student Bar Association Supreme Court Justice
- Honors: DePaul College of Law Student Bar Association Constitutional Committee Member
- Honors: DePaul University Black Law Student Association: Mock Trial Team
- Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, Ohio
- B.A. - 05/2013
- Honors: Dayton C. Miller Honor Society, Superior Academic Achievement, top 4%, Dec 2012
- Honors: Sigma Iota Rho, International Studies Honor Society, inducted in April 2012
- Honors: Pi Gamma Mu, Social Science Honor Society, inducted April 2012
- Honors: Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Honor Society, inducted in April 2012
- Honors: Alpha Lambda Delta, Freshman Honor Society inducted April 2010
- Major: Political Science and Public Relations
Past Positions
- The City of Chicago’s Public Defender Office 711, Law Clerk, 2015 to 2016
- Honorable Judge Victoria A. Roberts, Judicial Extern, 2014
- Cabrini Green Legal Aid, Criminal Intake Volunteer, 2014 to 2015
