Director of Bar Skills and Associate Professor of Law
vonda.laughlin@lmunet.edu
B.A., University of Tennessee
J.D., University of Tennessee College of Law
LL.M., University of Connecticut School of Law
Vonda M. Laughlin is an Associate Professor and Director of Bar Studies. She is licensed to practice in Tennessee and is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Jefferson County Bar Association. She received her LL.M. in Insurance Law from the University of Connecticut School of Law, with honors, where she received the LL.M. Prize for exemplifying the law school’s commitment to distinguished scholarship in the field of insurance law and for dedication to serving the community. She was also awarded CALI Excellence for the Future awards in Principles of Insurance and Surety Law. She received her J.D., with highest honors, from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she was ranked first in her class. There, she received several honors including a number of American Jurisprudence awards and the Michie Company Outstanding Graduate Award.
Laughlin served as a judicial clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas G. Hull. She later practiced with a New York-based firm that is now Milberg LLP and with Butler, Vines, and Babb in Knoxville. She also served as in-house counsel for Permanent General Insurance Company, where she tried a number of jury cases.
Laughlin believes students have different and varied strengths and abilities, and her goal is to help each student excel and reach his or her chosen goals. “Through the law, lawyers have the opportunity to speak for those who lack the skills to speak for themselves,” she says.
Laughlin lives in Jefferson City and enjoys spending time on Cherokee Lake with her husband, Mike. They enjoy time with their rescue canine friends, Bre and Happy Dog. She also enjoys travel and photography.