Paul S. Thaler

Paul has more than 30 years of experience conducting and representing hundreds of clients in internal investigations on college and university campuses, giving him a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced when dealing with higher education institutions. He is nationally known for his work in research misconduct matters and represents both scientists and institutions across the United States in matters involving allegations of plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification of data in the context of scientific research supported by federal funds. As chair of the Research Misconduct Group and a member of the firm’s Title IX Group (a group approved by a leading education-specific insurance company to provide external investigations), Paul has significant experience conducting internal investigations on behalf of corporations, educational institutions, non-profit groups, and other organizations. In addition to his research misconduct work, Paul’s work in investigations includes Title IX and student conduct investigations on behalf of schools, colleges, and universities.

Throughout his career, Paul has successfully defended and prosecuted a wide variety of claims, including research misconduct, Title IX, business disputes, theft of trade secrets, copyright infringement, unlawful discrimination, wrongful termination, and workplace violence. He represents clients in state and federal courts throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area and in numerous federal courts across the country. Paul has also provided private ADR services and has mediated or arbitrated hundreds of matters. Paul serves as an arbitrator on the D.C. Bar’s Attorney/Client Arbitration Board, Fee Arbitration Service. He also served as a court-appointed mediator for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for nearly twenty years. In 2016, Paul was elected by the Board of Governors of the D.C. Bar to serve a three-year term on the bar’s Judicial Evaluation Committee. He was re-appointed for another three-year term in 2019.

Paul is a thought leader in the fields in which he works. He has been an invited speaker for The Office of Research Integrity (ORI), which oversees investigations in research misconduct on behalf of the federal government, the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), and a select group of professionals in the field of research misconduct brought together to develop new standards in the field. He presented to the ORI Conference in 2017. Paul has also been interviewed in dozens of national publications, appeared on network television, and testified before the Maryland General Assembly concerning ADR.

Paul is a shareholder, a member of the firm’s board of directors, and the managing partner of the Washington, DC office. He is a fifth-generation Washingtonian and an active member of the DC community. For more than fifteen years, Paul was an adjunct professor at American University teaching courses in business law, business ethics, and global corporate citizenship. Paul served as an appointed member representative of the Montgomery County Base Realignment Committee (BRAC) addressing the impact of the Walter Reed Hospital closure and move to Bethesda Naval Medical Center. He was also the vice-chair of the Coalition of Military Medical Center Neighbors and a member of the Board of Trustees for the National Child Research Center (Washington, DC). He is a graduate of St. Albans School and is an active member of its alumni community.