Lauren Lake

{{Short description|American lawyer, interior designer, author, businesswoman and consultant}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Lauren Lake

| image = Lauren Lake Nov 2019.png

| caption = Lake during an interview in November 2019

| birth_name = Lauren Laniece Howard

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=y|1969|7|12}}

| other_names = Lauren J. Howard
Lauren Lake Woods{{cite web|url=http://radaris.com/~Lauren-Howard/147452090 |title=Lauren L Howard, 43 from Southfield, Michigan. Records, address, phone, email, social profile, history and other premium background information at Radaris |publisher=Radaris.com |date= |accessdate=2013-02-12}}

| years_active = 1995–present

| known_for = Lauren Lake's Paternity Court

| alma_mater = University of Michigan (BA)
Wayne State University (JD)

| occupation = Lawyer, talk show host, television personality

| website =

}}

Lauren Laniece Lake{{cite web|url=http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/07024-nj-lauren-lake-1581603.html |title=Lawyer Lauren Lake – Fort Lee Attorney |publisher=Avvo.com |date= |accessdate=2012-12-29}} (born July 12, 1969{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/PaternityCourt |title=Paternity Court |publisher=Facebook |date= |accessdate=2013-08-15}}{{Cite web |title=Lauren Lake - Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lauren_lake |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}) is an American family lawyer, television judge, and talk show presenter.{{Cite book | url = https://archive.org/details/thinkstraighttal0000bloo | url-access = registration | page = [https://archive.org/details/thinkstraighttal0000bloo/page/209 209] | quote = Lauren Lake. | title = Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-down World | isbn = 9781593156619 |last1=Bloom | first1=Lisa |location=New York |publisher=Vanguard Press |date = May 24, 2011}}

Lake has performed in guest hosting and news anchoring positions for various talk shows and reality legal programs.{{cite web|url=http://www.hgtv.com/lauren-lake/bio/index.html |title=Lauren Lake: On TV: Home & Garden Television |publisher=HGTV.com |date= |accessdate=2012-12-24}} In much of her guest hosting, she has discussed racial, ethnic, gender, and political issues. She was the host of HGTV's how-to series Spice Up My Kitchen.

Lake is best known for arbitrating as the presiding judge over her own tabloid talk/nontraditional courtroom series, Lauren Lake's Paternity Court. The series ran for seven seasons and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award five times, including a win in 2019.{{citation needed |date=April 2023}}

Early life and education

Lake was born in Detroit, Michigan.{{cite web|author=T.V.com|author-link=TV.com|url=http://www.tv.com/people/lauren-lake/ |title=Lauren Lake |publisher=CBS Interactive |date= |accessdate=2012-12-21}} Describing her parents, Lake said, "These were Black people who fought their way through, one Ph.D. at a time, so they were big on education."{{cite web |url=http://s2smagazine.com/magazine/shes-lauren-lake |title=She's Lauren Lake |publisher=S2Smagazine.com |date=February 20, 2009 |accessdate=2013-01-09 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216194848/http://s2smagazine.com/magazine/shes-lauren-lake |archive-date=2013-02-16 |url-status=dead }} As a child, Lake sang, danced, and acted in plays. Lake attended Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and was a National Merit Scholar in 1986.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2129619/bio |title=Lauren Lake |publisher=IMDb |accessdate=December 24, 2012}}

In May 1990, Lake earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She earned a secondary teacher certification that same year. In May 1993, Lake earned a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Michigan.{{cite web |url=http://www.aeispeakers.com/speakerbio.php?SpeakerID=1789 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504010757/http://www.aeispeakers.com/speakerbio.php?SpeakerID=1789 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 4, 2008 |publisher=AEI Speakers Bureau |title=Lauren Lake|accessdate=December 24, 2012}} She paid for her college education by singing on the weekends.{{Cite web|title=Lauren Lake Is an Interior Designer, Lawyer, Author, and Media Personality|url=https://www.distractify.com/p/is-lauren-lake-a-real-judge|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Distractify|date=March 18, 2021|language=en-US}}

In June 1995, she was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and began her law career as a criminal defense attorney. In June 2002, she was admitted to the New York State Bar Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association, where her practice is predominantly devoted to entertainment and family law.{{cite web|url=http://www.laurenlake.com/html/biography-law.shtml |title=Welcome to Adobe GoLive 5 |publisher=Laurenlake.com |date= |accessdate=2012-12-21}}{{Self-published inline|date=April 2023}} Lake began designing professionally after graduating from law school.

Entertainment work

In 1999, Lake relocated to New York City to work in entertainment. She sang background for Mary J. Blige, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg. Lake also began writing, recording, and publicly performing her own music, eventually creating her own production company.{{cite news|url=http://thehiphopdiva.com/spotlight/spotlight-on-hip-hop-diva-lauren-lake/ |title=Spotlight on Hip Hop Diva Lauren Lake |newspaper=Thehiphopdiva.Com |date=December 24, 2009 |accessdate=2013-01-09}}

Lake appeared on To Live and Date in New York, which chronicled the dating lives of New York women. The series aired on Women's Entertainment Channel as "Single in the City." Lake served as a correspondent, expert and life coach on The Greg Behrendt Show and as a legal and relationship expert and life coach on The Ricki Lake Show, for two seasons. She also served as field correspondent, makeover specialist, and judge on The Ricki Lake Show.

Lake has made guest appearances on Dr. Phil and The View as a legal expert. She has also appeared on The Today Show, The O'Reilly Factor, The Bill Cunningham Show, Regis & Kelly, Montel Williams, and The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. Lake has served as a guest host/anchor and legal analyst for MSNBC and TruTV. Since 2005, Lake has been a regular on-air commentator on CNN, Headline News, Fox News Channel, and CNBC. She was also the subject of an episode of Modern Hero in 2017.{{cite web |title=Modern Hero: Lauren Lake – From TV Host to Designer She's Got Limitless Talent! |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12135590/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl |website=IMDb |access-date=December 24, 2020}}

Lake is also a regular contributor to Black Entertainment Television's Meet the Faith and My Two Cents. She has participated in TLC shows such as While You Were Out and Trading Spaces. Between May 2007 through 2009, Lake hosted 47 episodes of HGTV's how-to show Spice Up My Kitchen.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1106348/|title = Spice up My Kitchen (TV Series 2007– ) – IMDb|website = IMDb}} Lake has acknowledged her lack of formal design training, stating that it allows her to think outside the box.

Lake presided over her own tabloid talk/courtroom series, Lauren Lake's Paternity Court, which began on September 23, 2013,{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sxjrvcR1z4 |title=Paternity Court Premieres September 23rd on San Diego 6 the CW |publisher=YouTube |date= May 29, 2013|accessdate=2013-06-18}} and was produced by MGM Television.{{cite web |url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/exclusive-mgm-launch-paternity-court-fall-113903|title=Exclusive: MGM to Launch 'Paternity Court' This Fall |first1=Paige |last1=Albiniak |website=NextTV |date=December 12, 2012 |accessdate=2020-06-26}} and ran for 8 seasons until it was cancelled in 2021. Lake heard and decided paternity cases and rendered DNA test results.

Lake has frequently participated as a guest legal expert on Power 105.1 FM. She has also been a regular guest on the Tom Joyner Morning Show and Michael Baisden radio show.{{cite web|url= https://www.sidewalkstv.com/interview-lauren-lake-paternity-court-on-sidewalks-tv-2013-video/|title= Interview: Lauren Lake (Paternity Court) on Sidewalks TV (2013 Video)|publisher=SidewalksTV |date=September 21, 2013 |accessdate=2020-06-26}} She has been a guest on WBLS New York,{{cite news|url=http://www.laurenlake.com/about/ |title=About |newspaper=Lauren Lake |date= |accessdate=2013-01-25}}{{Self-published inline|date=April 2023}} and guest on-air host for Radio One's WDBZ in Cincinnati.

In June 2021, Entertainment Studios ordered a revival of the daily court show We the People with Lake taking over for Gloria Allred.{{cite web |title=New Lauren Lake Syndicated Court Show Set At Entertainment Studios For Fall 2022|url=https://deadline.com/2022/07/we-the-people-with-judge-lauren-lake-court-series-entertainment-studios-fall-2022-syndication-1234779517/|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=June 22, 2021}} It premiered in 2022.{{cite web |title=We the People with Judge Lauren Lake |url=https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/we-the-people-with-judge-lauren-lake-2022 |website=AV Club |access-date=27 April 2023}}

Other work

Between 1999 and 2002, Lake was the vice president of DS Recordings Inc. Since September 2000, Lake has also been the co-owner of L Style Design Studios, LLC, in Fort Lee, N.J., an interior design service.{{cite web|url=http://www.laurenlake.com/nu/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223065345/http://www.laurenlake.com/nu/ |archivedate=2010-02-23 |title=Lauren Lake |publisher=www.laurenlake.com |date=December 15, 2012 |access-date=2012-12-24}}{{Self-published inline |date=April 2023}}

Since 2006, Lake has run the Law Offices of Lauren Lake, located in New York City, Saddlebrook, New Jersey, and Southfield, Michigan where she acts as the sole practitioner. She and worked on civil and criminal matters, including divorce, child custody and support, and paternity. She has also handled felony and misdemeanor trials, involving arson, criminal sexual conduct, theft, weapons, assault, and possession of controlled substances. She is a member of The Metropolitan Bar Association, Association of Black Women Lawyers, and Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. Lake is the co-founder of the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN) which promotes the positive portrayal of women in entertainment and society.

Lake has presented as a motivational speaker. She participated in Bill Cosby's Call Out speaking tour in 2006. Lake also appears in Cosby's book Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victor.

Lake's book, "Girl! Let Me Tell You...," was published in 2009.{{cite book |first1=Lauren |last1=Lake |title=Girl! Let Me Tell You... Advice on Life and Love for Single Successful Women |location=Fort Lee, N.J |publisher=Lovelake Books |year=2009 |isbn=978-0692002414}} In the book, Lake answers questions about life and love, posed by single women.{{cite web|url=http://www.laurenlake.com/ |title=Girl! Let Me Tell You... Advice on Life and Love for Single Successful Women by Lauren Lake |publisher=Laurenlake.com |date= |accessdate=2012-12-21}}{{Self-published inline|date=April 2023}}

Personal life

In 2007, Lake married former NFL coach and sports trader Carlos Woods. The couple has a son.{{cite web |url=http://www.dsuhornets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID==205680491 |title=Carlos Woods bio – DSUHornets.com – Official Web site of Delaware State University Athletics |website=www.dsuhornets.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521020954/http://www.dsuhornets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID==205680491 |archive-date=2018-05-21}}