The Story of the Laughter Lawyer

(If you believe that the journey is nearly as important at the destination itself, you’ll be fascinated by the Laughter Lawyer’s story. Settle in and get to know what brought Debra Norwood to therapeutic laughter, what she loves about it, and what she aims to accomplish with it.)

Debra began practicing law with her husband over 25 years ago, assisting him with employment and labor law cases. They painfully watched on as their clients lost their livelihoods, often tumbling into a downward spiral, losing their homes and marriages.

For Debra, the tipping point came when a client committed suicide after receiving an unusual, noncommittal one-sentence denial of appeal to his seven-year struggle for justice in a whistleblower case. Debra and her husband frankly realized they could no longer ignore the personal side of the lawsuits and clients they represented. The Norwoods decided to become holistic lawyers and began to offer referrals and coupons to help clients take real care of their lives, not just their lawsuits.

As she developed the customer service aspect of the firm, Debra became more and more fascinated by the difference in people and how they can handle stress. Why could someone endure immense tragedy, while others seemed crushed by the smallest of obstacles?

This curiosity built as Debra listened to the heartaches of her clients, as she struggled with her children’s own special needs, and as she watched her eccentric and gifted mother lose all cognitive and motor control after a tragic fall. Debra began a desperate search for the answer to one question,

“Why do some people seem happier than others?”

And then one day Debra learned about the transformational physical and emotional benefits of laughter.

“This sounds wonderful,” Debra first thought when researching the World Laughter Tour, “But I’m not good at cracking jokes".  She was relieved to learn that she would not have to crack jokes to help people with therapeutic laughter. It was then she knew that her entire life’s saga had landed her squarely in one solid program to help people learn about the healing power of gratitude, forgiveness, and laughter.. And Laughter Lawyer USA was born!