Laura Coordes's research focuses on bankruptcy and financial distress and includes commercial law, large corporate reorganizations, and local government finance and policy. She teaches Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Advanced Bankruptcy, Secured Transactions, and Contracts. Professor Coordes is an active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and serves as a volunteer editor for the ABI's Volo project, which summarizes and disseminates bankruptcy-related circuit court opinions. Professor Coordes has served as a peer reviewer for the American Bankruptcy Law Journal and is an Honorary Master of the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court. She also serves on the Education Committee for the 2021 National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Annual Meeting and the Education Committee for Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE).

Professor Coordes received her J.D. with honors from The University of Chicago Law School, where she was a Bradley Fellow and served on The University of Chicago Law Review.  She completed a legal fellowship at the Student Press Law Center after receiving her degree. Before coming to the College of Law, Professor Coordes practiced in the Business, Finance and Restructuring Department at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York.