Marla H. Norton

Marla H. Norton is a director at Bayard. She concentrates her practice on business entity law (corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and statutory trusts), business law and third-party legal opinions.

Marla has over thirty (30) years of experience in corporate and commercial transactions, including securitization transactions, corporate and alternative entity formation and governance, mergers and acquisitions, contract negotiation and drafting, and secured lending.

Marla participates in the American Bar Association Business Law Section, including the LLC, Partnership and Unincorporated Entities Committee, the Legal Opinions Committee, the Middle Market and Small Business Committee, and the Forum on Franchising. She chairs the ABA Model Shareholders Agreement Task Force. She was an ABA Advisor to the Uniform Law Commission (formerly NCCUSL) Series Study Committee in 2012 and the Drafting Committee for the Limited Liability Company Protected Series Act from 2013-17. As a member of the Commercial Law and Corporation Law Sections of the Delaware State Bar Association, Marla is active on the Delaware State Bar Association’s Partnership and LLC Committee and the Statutory Trust Committee.

Marla serves as a Board member and as Secretary for The Delaware Contemporary, a non-collecting art museum in Wilmington, Delaware, where she previously served from 2009-2015. She also serves as a Past President on the Board of Directors of Temple Beth El in Newark, Delaware, having previously served as President from 2010-2012 and as a Board member for over a decade. She is Secretary and a Board member of the Alumni HenLaw Society, an affinity group of the University of Delaware Alumni Association. Marla has previously participated on the Legislative Committee of the Delaware Captive Insurance Association and on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners Delaware (“NAWBO DE”) from 2001 through 2008. She is a member of the Delaware chapter of the Forum of Executive Woman and a Great Dames Circle member.

Marla frequently lectures on topics including business entity matters and buying and selling businesses. She offers a vast array of business and financial transactional experience and knowledge to her clients and the firm.
 

Awards & Rankings

• Martindale-Hubbell AV® Peer Review Rated*
• Chambers USA Leading Lawyer,  2008 - 2023
• Chambers USA Band 2 Ranking, Corporate/M&A & Alternative Entities, 2015 - 2022 | Band 3 Ranking 2009-2014 | Band 3 Ranking, Corporate/M&A,  2008
• Delaware Today Top Lawyers Edition, Business-Commercial Law, 2016 - 2019,  2021, and Corporate Law, 2017
• Delaware Super Lawyer®, Delaware, Business/Corporate Law, 2007 

*AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell® certification procedures, standards and policies. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories: legal ability and general ethical standards.