A 1989 graduate of Salinas High School, Paul attended University of California, Santa Barbara, where he obtained bachelor's degrees in Spanish and Law and Society. He also obtained a master's degree from UCSB in Latin American Studies, with emphasis in Mexican history and political science. While in graduate school Paul studied politics in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, focusing on the administration of then-governor Vicente Fox. His master's thesis, published in 1997, predicted Fox's victory in the 2000 Mexican presidential election.
Paul earned his law degree from UC Davis in 1999. During law school, he clerked in the legal department of the California Department of Food & Agriculture and served as Editor in Chief of the UC Davis Journal of International Law & Policy and was a member of the UC Davis Law Review. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Michael S. McManus in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of California, before returning to Salinas. His practice includes agricultural law, business transactions and litigation, real estate, bankruptcy and debtor-creditor relations. Paul is a board member of MCAE and ALBA, Advisor to Hartnell College, and former Co-Vice Chair of the California State Bar Agribusiness Committee.