Paul Chill

Since joining the faculty in 1988, Paul Chill has supervised clinical programs in child protection, civil rights, disability and mental health law, and most recently mediation. He also has taught non-clinical courses on torts, criminal law, legal ethics, and legal interviewing, counseling and negotiation. From 2004-08 he served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Chill grew up in Manhattan and attended Stuyvesant High School, where he was captain of the football team and an all-city lineman. After graduating from Wesleyan University with honors in 1979, he served for three years as a state youth services officer, working with some of Connecticut's most serious juvenile offenders. He graduated from UConn Law School with honors in 1985, and began his legal career as a plaintiff's employment and personal injury litigator with the New Haven firm of Garrison, Kahn, Silbert & Arterton. He subsequently also served part-time as a state magistrate (1993-98), presiding in small claims and motor vehicle matters.

Chill has received broad recognition for his clinical teaching and advocacy on behalf of parents and families. In 1998, he was named one of "Ten Lawyers and Judges Who Made a Difference" in Connecticut for his work as lead counsel in a lawsuit, Pamela B. v. Ment, that led to systemic reform of the state's juvenile court system. In 1999, he received the Connecticut Law Review Award for excellence in legal scholarship and service to the legal community. His published writings include a treatise on Connecticut child protection law and practice, an article on emergency removal of children, a mock trial published by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) and several shorter publications. He served on the state Child Protection Commission during the entire period of its existence (2006-2011) and currently chairs the Law School's Curriculum Review Committee