Paul was raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Catholic Memorial High School and the University of Massachusetts. He received his law degree from Boston University Law School, where he developed an affinity for trial work. Paul began to develop his trial skills as a legal intern in the office of the Norfolk District Attorney. After graduating from law school, he accepted a position as an attorney with the Massachusetts Defenders Committee.

In 1978, Paul was invited to join the firm of Murphy, Lamere & Murphy, where he concentrated in trial work. There he developed additional specialties in civil litigation, medical malpractice, wrongful death and other complex personal injury litigation. In 1985, Paul successfully negotiated one of the first million dollar settlements in Massachusetts for a failure to diagnose cancer. Thereafter, Paul became a founding partner of Kenney, Conley, Sullivan & Smith, P.C., a general practice law firm, where he continued his litigation practice, specializing in the areas of wrongful death, construction site accidents, personal injury and medical malpractice.

As a partner of Kenney & Conley, P.C., Paul now concentrates on the litigation of catastrophic injury cases in the state and federal courts. He has lectured and written on a variety of subjects related to trial practice, and recently at the request of the Massachusetts Bar Association, chaired a seminar on wrongful death cases, for which he prepared an article entitled Maximizing Wrongful Death Damages From Interview To Verdict. Apart from the practice of law, Paul has served as the Chairman of the Board of Caritas Communities Inc., a non-profit corporation that provides safe and affordable housing for working men and women throughout greater Boston. Paul is a member of the Bar Association of Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bar Association, and the American Association for Justice.