Laura Jarrett is the anchor of "Early Start" with Christine Romans. Previously, Jarrett was a correspondent based in Washington, D.C. covering the Justice Department and legal issues. Since joining CNN from her law practice in 2016, Jarrett has covered many significant legal stories during the Trump administration, including the travel ban, migrant family separations at the southwest border, the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and high stakes battles between the Justice Department and Capitol Hill. She had a lead role in delivering the breaking news of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's appointment to oversee the Russia investigation in May 2017, as well as the conclusion of his work in March 2019. She also served as the lead reporter for CNN covering the Justice Department Inspector General's report on the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information, and the corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez.

Prior to CNN, Jarrett worked as an attorney in Chicago. In private practice, Jarrett focused on defending companies and individuals in government investigations brought by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as complex commercial litigation. Jarrett also devoted significant time to pro bono cases, including the representation of a sex trafficking victim who successfully used a new Illinois law to expunge her past convictions. Jarrett served as a law clerk for two federal judges, the Honorable Rebecca Pallmeyer on the Northern District of Illinois and later for the Honorable Ann C. Williams on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

Jarrett graduated from Harvard Law School in 2010, where she was Articles Selection co-chair for the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, and published her own articles on the intersection of gender, violence, and the law.