John Thornton

John Thornton is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He specializes in complex commercial litigation and legal education for international lawyers, with a background in applied linguistics.

• Education: BA (magna cum laude) from Notre Dame, MA from University of Illinois at Chicago, and JD from Northwestern University.
• Prior roles: Clinical Assistant Professor at Northwestern, associate at multiple law firms, and ESL lecturer (1983-1999).

His research bridges legal reasoning, writing, and practical training for non-US lawyers, reflected in his book U.S. Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Practice for International Lawyers (2014, Carolina Academic Press). Publications focus on commercial litigation, employment law, and compliance strategies.

He received the Global Legal Skills Award (2015) for his book. Courses taught include Advanced Legal Writing (LLM), Contract Drafting, and Common Law Reasoning.