April 24, 2025

Professor Laura Coordes takes on legal reform while keeping her students front and center

Laura Coordes, professor of law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, wears many hats. In addition to teaching and mentoring students, she plays a key role in shaping national policy as the reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s Drafting Committee on Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors. In that position, she is responsible for turning the committee’s ideas into the official language of a proposed uniform law. She also collaborates with other committees and leaders to ensure the draft reflects the group’s goals while staying consistent with broader Uniform Law Commission rules and policies.

 

The model legislation Coordes is helping to develop focuses on streamlining the process for Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors, a state-level alternative to federal bankruptcy. While ABCs can offer a faster and more cost-effective way for struggling businesses to liquidate, current laws vary wildly across states. Some states have a well-established statutory process, while others rely on outdated or underutilized frameworks. The proposed uniform act aims to provide a clear, consistent legal structure that any state can adopt. This would make ABCs a more viable and accessible option nationwide.

 

This kind of legislative work takes time and collaboration. Coordes has been involved for years, first serving on a study committee before moving onto the drafting team. 

 

“The process is hugely collaborative and highly reliant on feedback from professionals in the field,” she explained. “We have lots of meetings, we try to get the draft act to as many people who want to see it as possible, and we turn many, many drafts, all to try to achieve consensus or compromise on as many details as possible.”

 

Beyond her drafting work, Coordes is a prolific bankruptcy law scholar. She’s a co-founder of the Research Network on Public Authorities and Financial Distress and is the co-author of Municipalities in Financial Distress: An ESG Critique and the sixth edition of Law of Bankruptcy.  Her research appears in leading law journals and she regularly contributes to the Bankruptcy Law Letter. 

 

In addition, Coordes volunteers with the Televerde Foundation, which helps incarcerated women prepare for reentry into the workforce – an experience she describes as “extremely rewarding.”

 

Despite her many responsibilities, Coordes keeps her focus on her students.

 

“It is a privilege for me to be able to help students develop a passion for the law and specific subjects,” Coordes said. “I became an educator because I love to teach. And honestly, teaching makes me a better scholar. I'm lucky to teach in areas that I also research, so having fresh perspectives from students every year helps me to grow and challenge myself to think of new areas of study and new angles to approach my work.”

 

With her dedication to legal reform, scholarship and student success, Coordes continues to make a lasting impact both inside and far beyond the classroom.

 

Her work exemplifies the ASU Law Business and Corporate area of expertise by bridging rigorous academic research with real-world impact, advancing commercial law reform while equipping the next generation of lawyers with the tools to navigate and shape the evolving landscape of business and insolvency law.

Written by Crystal Jimenez