Paul worked for U. S. Senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart after graduating from University of Virginia, and before assisting with events and media for the Dalai Lama of Tibet, when the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Paul works now as a writer and as an independent consultant providing strategic counsel, representation, and project management for diverse clients.

In 1990, Paul facilitated nine months of multi-party negotiations — among corporate, government, and nonprofit litigants and stakeholders in Orange County, California — to resolve a longstanding dispute over undeveloped land with significant natural resources. He then directed a successful bond campaign clearing the way for the second largest urban wilderness park in the U. S., with 22,000 contiguous acres.

Paul worked closely with Henry Segerstrom and other owners of C. J. Segerstrom & Sons and South Coast Plaza Partners in Costa Mesa, California, for 15 years. South Coast Plaza generates $2 billion in annual retail sales. Paul worked on business, public affairs, philanthropy, and special projects. He was chiefly responsible for Development Agreements to repurpose 180 acres of farmland for mixed use, and to expand Segerstrom Center for the Arts to include a new theater, concert hall, public plaza, and museum.

Paul has served on US-EU observation and assistance missions in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and, in the wake of the Arab Spring, Egypt. He was a member of the Fairfax County, Virginia School Board, and served two terms as mayor of Laguna Beach, California.

In addition to his writing on behalf of clients, Paul has authored essays, newspaper columns, a novel, and short stories. His latest short story, One Night In A Diner, will be published in a forthcoming edition of Fjords Review, a literary magazine.

Paul has two children, resides in Vista, California, and has an abiding interest in the game of Go.