Mel K. Norton

Mel Norton brings more than two decades of courtroom experience and a close familiarity with Saint John's business community to a commercial litigation practice spanning construction law, bankruptcy and insolvency, and debtor-creditor disputes.

His practice has grown to include advising businesses, agencies, boards and commissions on regulatory, governance and professional compliance matters, alongside a distinct municipal law practice advising municipalities.

Mel got into law almost by accident. A stiff speeding ticket as a teenager – resolved only when a friend's lawyer father intervened with the prosecutor – showed him what good advocacy could do, and the pull only deepened growing up as the son of a pastor, in a family where service came first.

For Mel, service and community remain paramount.

Mel's approach reflects the culture he found when he joined the firm. In his early years, the whole office would turn out for the Rally of Hope, setting up a borrowed armoury tent at the Canada Games Stadium to raise money for the hospital foundation.

“There was a real sense that the firm was trying to make the greater Saint John community better, not just serve it,” he says. “That's what drew me here, and it's what I've tried to carry forward.”

Mel joined Lawson Creamer in 2000 upon his admission to the New Brunswick Bar and was welcomed into the partnership in 2010. He also served as a legal officer with the Canadian Forces.

Also in 2010, he was elected to Saint John Common Council as Councillor for Ward 3. In 2012, he was elected Mayor of the City of Saint John, an office he held until 2016.

He currently serves as Chair of WorkSafe New Brunswick, a role he has held since May 2019, and sits on the board of Imperial Theatre Inc. as past president.

Mel lives in the heart of Uptown Saint John with his wife, Stephanie, and their adorable dog, Harbour.

LLB – University of New Brunswick

BA, Political Science and History – University of New Brunswick

New Brunswick

Massachusetts

• Lawson Creamer
• City of Saint John
• Canadian Forces

• English