Laura Coates

Laura Coates is CNN’s chief legal analyst and anchor. She plays a central role in the network’s extensive legal programming and fills in as an anchor across CNN programming including hosting primetime programs, impactful specials, and a CNN Town Hall. She is also the host of the award-winning daily "The Laura Coates Show" on SiriusXM’s bipartisan P.O.T.U.S. channel where she interviews world leaders and politicians from both sides of the aisle and engages the audience with a lively discussion on the intersection of politics and the law.

Coates is a well-respected constitutional expert, attorney, commentator, author, and former adjunct professor at the George Washington University School of Law. Her depth of experience and broad expertise have earned her acclaim across all media platforms for her objective, nonpartisan legal analysis.

She is the New York Times bestselling author of "Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor’s Fight For Fairness." In 2016, recognizing the dire need for increased police accountability and improved police-community relations, Coates wrote the bestselling book "You Have the Right: A Constitutional Guide to Policing the Police."

A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Coates graduated from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and the University of Minnesota Law School, where she serves on the Board of Advisors, before beginning her legal career in private practice. Called to public service, she transitioned from private practice to the United States Department of Justice, thriving as a federal prosecutor.