Paul is Legal Director at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and was a participant in the Chatham House round table discussions on co-parties. He joined the legal cadre of the UK diplomatic service in 1991 and has worked as Legal Counsellor as at the UK Representation to the EU, international law adviser to the Attorney General and Director of the Cabinet Office European Law Division. He has also worked as a legal adviser in the Legal Division of the ICRC and from 2012 to 2020 was Director in the Council Legal Service of the EU covering foreign relations, trade and defence.