Laura Baird

Baird was born on 1 October 1952 in northern Michigan,[1][2] to parents Boyd C. Baird and Nancy L. Tingley.[3] Her father and grandfather both served as probate judges.[1][4] Baird attended Western Michigan University, graduating in 1975, then earned her J.D. degree from Thomas Cooley Law School in 1979.[1][5] She was placed on the court-appointed list for legal cases regarding abuse and neglect shortly after graduating from law school.[4] Baird worked at a private legal practice, Baird & Zulakis, from 1980 to 2000,[5] with her husband George Zulakis.[6]

Laura Baird and George Zulakis had three children, Michael, Nicholas, and Zoe.[1][2] Nicholas died in 2001.[7] Zoe enrolled at the University of Minnesota Law School in 2018.[8] Laura Baird's father Boyd C. Baird died in 2008.[3]

Baird later moved to Okemos, Michigan,[1] and was Ingham County commissioner from 1992 to 1994, representing the 11th district.[5] She ran for the 70th district seat on the Michigan House of Representatives in 1994, as a Democratic Party candidate, and won.[1] Baird was elected to another term in 1996, and remained in office from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2000.[9] Baird was elected a judge of the Michigan Circuit Court in 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018.[5] In 2013, Baird was elected vice president of the Michigan Judges Association,[10] and became president of the MJA in December 2015.[11]