At NYU, Coughlin served as managing editor of the New York University Law Review.
After law school, Coughlin clerked for Judge Jon O. Newman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then for Justice Lewis F. Powell of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Coughlin began her academic career at Vanderbilt Law School, teaching there from 1991 to 1995.
She joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in 1996, after having served as a visiting professor during the 1995-96 academic year.
[6] Some commentators have credited this lawsuit with influencing the Department of Defense's 2013 decision to reverse this policy.