Bio

Jakob Z. Norman

Jakob is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer. Before practicing law, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he met Nick Rowley on their first day of basic training. As teenagers, they began learning the values of discipline, teamwork, and integrity; principles they have carried with them into adulthood and continue to uphold in their relentless pursuit of justice.

While Jakob primarily represents individuals who have been injured, his legal career has also included representing criminal defendants in high-profile cases, including wrongful conviction matters. The common thread in each of Jakob’s cases is his deep belief in his client and his commitment to understanding the wrong that must be vindicated. Because he is selective with the cases he takes, Jakob devotes the time needed to truly know each client on a personal level. His dedication to justice has resulted in numerous record-setting settlements and verdicts in multiple states across the country.

Jakob began his legal career working in insurance defense, corporate law, and as a prosecutor. He has also served as a military prosecutor and ethics advisor for both federal and state governments. His experience on “the other side” has proven tactically invaluable in litigation and instrumental in achieving the best outcomes for his clients.

Jakob made national headlines after securing a record verdict in California on behalf of an individual poisoned by a major oil company that had knowingly contaminated the land. He and his team continue to represent individuals harmed by corporate negligence. This includes over 1,000 factory workers exposed to Trichloroethylene (TCE) at levels 300,000 times the EPA limits, and over 1,000 coal miners given dust masks that a major corporation knew were ineffective.

Jakob was appointed to the mass tort leadership team in In Re: Bard Implanted Port Catheter Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3081, pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. This litigation seeks justice for thousands of individuals injured by a defective medical device.

He also serves as the Executive Director of Trial by Human, a national platform committed to training and empowering trial lawyers. Based on the foundational principles of Nick Rowley’s groundbreaking book, Jakob leads programs and workshops across the country designed to elevate the practice of trial law through hands-on, experience-based education.

While earning his degree in Psychology, Jakob conducted research on the detection of deception, designed and ran jury decision-making studies, and interned at Harvard University, contributing to the CIA’s first-ever fMRI lie detection research.

Jakob has also founded or participated in over 10 startup ventures, including one backed by legendary oil magnate T. Boone Pickens, where he served as President and CEO. With $75 million in startup funding, Jakob helped grow the company into a national and international enterprise. Under his leadership, the company received the prestigious Department of Defense Freedom Award for its support and employment of veterans.

Jakob’s military service spans over three decades in both the Air Force and Army and includes ongoing duty in the Army National Guard. He has advanced through the ranks from enlisted to his current position as a Colonel, holding assignments in transportation, medical, infantry, Judge Advocate General (JAG Corps), Air Defense Artillery, logistics, and senior command/staff positions, including Deputy Chief of Staff – Logistics, Deputy Chief of Staff – Personnel, and Regimental Commander. He currently serves as a Brigade Commander in the National Guard and has received a Certificate of Eligibility to become a Brigadier General. His deployments include post-9/11 activation, Hurricane Katrina relief, the 46th Presidential Inauguration, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. While deployed, he was a member of the team that conducted the first prosecution of a detainee in coalition forces custody in Afghanistan. Jakob has served on multiple Joint Task Forces and is the recipient of the Army Combat Action Badge, Airborne Wings, Air Assault Wings, Senior Instructor Badge, and more than 24 ribbons and decorations.

In 2017, Jakob served under appointment by the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Army on one of the Department’s most complex investigations at the Pentagon. He is also an honor graduate and received a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, joining the ranks of esteemed alumni such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ulysses S. Grant III, Colin Powell, and H. Norman Schwarzkopf.