 He joined the Civil Service in July 1981 as Assistant Labour Officer and was transferred to the Judicial Department and appointed Deputy Clerk of the Court in 1982.In 1984 he resigned from the Civil Service and joined the firm of Charles Adams and Co. as an articled clerk.McLaughlin graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1988 with a Bachelor of Laws degree and was made partner in Charles Adams, Ritchie and Duckworth in 1993.