Norman Abrams retired from the UCLA Law School faculty in 2007 with the titles of Acting Chancellor Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus. Since then, he has been recalled and continues to teach and write in the areas of anti-terrorism law, federal criminal law and evidence. He serves on both the Faculty Advisory Board and Community Advisory Board of the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.

Before joining the UCLA Law School faculty in 1959, Abrams served for two years as a research associate and director of the Harvard-Brandeis Cooperative Research for Israel's Legal Development at the Harvard Law School. Abrams has taught as a visiting professor at the Law Faculties of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He has also served as a visiting fellow at the Hebrew University's Institute for Advanced Studies.

Abrams’ publications include groundbreaking casebooks and numerous articles, including some Israel-specific publications, both about Israel legal subjects and articles published in Israel law journals and other Israeli professional outlets. An example is a seminal piece published in the Israel Law Review on the origins of the Criminal Code Ordinance, Israel's basic Criminal Law document at the time the State was established.