Paul Figley joined the faculty of the Washington College of Law in the Fall of 2006. He is the Associate Director of the Legal Writing and Rhetoric Program. Professor Figley has taught Legal Rhetoric, first year Torts, and upper level Advanced Lawyering Skills: Tort Litigation. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the ADMINISTRATIVE LAW REVIEW and the AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW. The Student Bar Association voted him Washington College of Law Professor of the Year for 2012-13 and Faculty Member of the Year for 2014-15.

Professor Figley has presented at scholarly symposia and conferences and taught writing workshops to national organizations and government agencies. He has written for national legal writing publications. He has also published articles in scholarly journals and a book, A Guide to the Federal Tort Claims Act (ABA, 2012). In 2017, he won Washington College of Law’s Emalee C. Godsey Scholar Award.

Professor Figley was a U.S. Department of Justice litigator for three decades. During his last fifteen years he served as Deputy Director in the Torts Branch of the Civil Division. At Justice, Professor Figley represented the United States and its agencies in appellate and district court litigation involving torts, national security, and information law.

Professor Figley is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College and Southern Methodist University School of Law, where he was Leading Articles Editor for the Journal of Air Law & Commerce.