He served for four years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Alexandria, Virginia, and is currently a member of the federal Criminal Justice Act panel in the Southern District of New York. He is a graduate of Columbia Law School, and holds a graduate degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford University. Mr. Paulson speaks fluent Spanish and is admitted to practice law in New York, Virginia, and California. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the National Lawyers Guild.