About Norman
Norman Zalkind brings decades of courtroom experience and a long record of teaching to his work. He earned his B.S. from Boston College in 1960 and took his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1963. Those early years set the stage for a career that has spanned trial work, appellate practice, and legal education.
Shortly after law school, he helped establish a practice that would become Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP. He is listed as founder and of counsel starting in 1965. Over time he built a practice rooted in criminal defense, representing clients in state and federal matters. The firm became the platform for his litigation work, and it remains the place where he continues to contribute legal services.
In 1971 he joined Northeastern School of Law as a professor of criminal trial practice. Colleagues and students knew him in the classroom and in the clinic. He taught courtroom techniques, trial strategy, and the practical skills young lawyers need to conduct jury trials. His teaching ran alongside his active courtroom practice, creating a feedback loop between theory and real-world advocacy.
His courtroom admissions reflect a broad litigation reach. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He is also admitted to the First Circuit and to the United States Supreme Court. Those credentials have allowed him to handle matters at several levels of the federal system as well as in state court.
Zalkind has long been involved in professional associations linked to criminal defense. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. Those memberships align with the practice areas he has pursued over the years: trial and appellate criminal defense, evidentiary issues, and procedural work in federal and state courts.
He divides his time between trial preparation, appeals, and mentoring younger lawyers at his firm. He remains of counsel at Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP and continues to accept criminal defense matters and appellate assignments in Massachusetts and federal courts.
