Laura Millmore, J.D. Legal Studies Bachelor’s Degree – 1995

Laura Millmore is currently a magistrate judge in the 54-A District Court in Lansing, Michigan. After receiving her University of Illinois Springfield’s Legal Studies Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1995, she attended the Michigan State University College of Law and graduated cum laude with her J.D. in 2002. Magistrate Millmore has the distinction of becoming a magistrate judge only two years after graduation from law school.

The University of Illinois Springfield’s Legal Studies Bachelor’s Degree Program originally appealed to Magistrate Millmore because of the school’s close location to Springfield and her lifelong dream of becoming a lawyer. Additionally, the flexibility of being able to take both night and day classes was crucial to her success. During part of her tenure at UIS, she was employed as a full-time driver for United Parcel Service and needed the ability to schedule classes in the evening.

While completing her Legal Studies degree, her research focused on the topics of civil rights and the rights of LGBT individuals. For Magistrate Millmore her fondest memory of Legal Studies is the dedicated faculty and the Law and Literature class that showed her “how much I could enjoy reading legal literature for the first time in my life.” The Legal Studies Degree that Judge Millmore received at UIS has also made a difference in her life and professional career. According to her, “Getting my degree made me realize that I could get a J.D. later in life. I was and am very proud of the education I received at UIS.”