Norma Kay Wendt

With a passion for justice that spans more than 30 years, Norma Wendt became part of Shoemaker Law in 2022 after building a distinguished career as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney across St. Johns, Putnam, and Flagler counties. Early in her professional journey, she earned an M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Florida and worked for United Way and the Hillsborough County public schools. After five years, she returned to UF for her law degree, where her leadership and advocacy earned her roles as President of the John Marshall Bar Association, trial-team competitor, judge’s clerk, law-firm intern, Florida Blue Key inductee, and Inn of Court participant. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 1988, Norma first handled product-liability and medical-malpractice cases, then served as a state prosecutor for over a decade before becoming a public defender and ultimately Division Chief. Although she briefly retired in 2020 and explored family law at Gennusa Law, criminal defense remains her true calling. Beyond the courtroom, Norma has ranching and flying credentials, serves as a Major in the Civil Air Patrol, fences with a sabre, competes in USPSA pistol matches, and has worked with astronaut scholarship foundations—an extension of her childhood ties to Florida’s Space Coast.