Laws was laid down on 19 May 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Washington; launched on 22 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Mary A. Farwell; and commissioned on 18 November 1943.

On 16 February 1804, Decatur laid his command, the ketch Intrepid, alongside the captured frigate and, as Captain Edward Preble later wrote, "in a Gallant and Officer[-]like manner, boarded and carried her against all opposition…" Silence cloaked the bold American attack.

Laws served under Lieutenant James Lawrence, who, with Midshipman Thomas Macdonough and ten men (all cautioned "to use firearms only in case of urgent necessity") seized Philadelphia's berth deck and forward storerooms.

Following two weeks of antisubmarine training, the destroyer sailed on the 20th to screen a refueling group supporting the raids on Palau, Yap, and Ulithi.

After a brief respite at Pearl Harbor, Laws arrived at Roi Island 8 June, to join a carrier group en route to Saipan.

Laws' 5 inch guns threw up a deadly barrage of antiaircraft fire, splashing two enemy planes and assisting in the downing of another.

Additional bases were needed as staging areas for ships and aircraft during the planned Leyte invasion; and the Palau Island group was selected.

While en route to their target, friendly planes reported a Japanese force of 40 small craft off Sanco Point; two cruisers, Laws, and three other destroyers were sent to intercept the group.

Since American occupation of the Philippines would cut squarely across enemy supply lines from the East Indies to the home islands, the Japanese could be expected to strike back at the invasion with their entire fleet.

As the Japanese Navy Minister, Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai, reflected after the close of hostilities "...defeat at Leyte was tantamount to the loss of the Philippines.

Departing 10 February, Laws joined a destroyer radar picket unit set up to give the carrier forces early warning of enemy attacks.

Laws departed Ulithi on 21 March, as part of Task Force 54 (TF 54), to take up patrol station in advance of the planned 1 April invasion.

When the need arose for additional ships to support the Korean War, Laws was recommissioned on 2 November 1951 at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

She joined the Seventh Fleet in peacekeeping operations and during the summer remained on alert to support the Chinese Nationalist positions in the Tachen Islands.