Paul leads Buddle Findlay’s resource management and Māori law team in Wellington where he specialises in Māori law, Treaty settlement negotiations and RMA planning/consenting processes.

Paul appears in a range of courts, tribunals and boards of inquiry on Māori law and RMA cases.  He has extensive experience collaborating and negotiating with Māori and advising on Māori law issues and partnership frameworks.  He has been a member of the core Crown design, drafting and negotiation teams on numerous Treaty of Waitangi settlements with a focus on natural resources and co-governance, including for example for the Waikato River; the Tūpuna Maunga in Auckland; the novel 'legal personality' models adopted for Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River), Te Urewera (Tūhoe) and currently for Mt Taranaki; and a range of other natural resource based settlements across the country.  Paul also led the Crown drafting team for the 8 Treaty settlement deeds in Te Tau Ihu – Nelson/Marlborough.  His particular focus is designing and negotiating co-governance, co-management and partnership frameworks between Māori and the Crown, local authorities and other entities.  He acts for co-governance entities such as the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, the Waikato River Authority and Te Urewera Board.

Paul was also the independent chair of the Stakeholder Working Group for the Sea Change - Tai Timu Tai Pari collaborative marine spatial planning process in the Hauraki Gulf, and the independent chair of the Subantarctic Marine Protection Planning Forum. 

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