Sterling M. Paulson

Sterling M. Paulson is a member of Quinn Emanuel’s Salt Lake City office.

Sterling is an experienced trial attorney and former federal prosecutor. He focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation and representation of corporations and executives in administrative, civil, and criminal investigations involving the FBI, FDA, IRS, FTC, and other state and federal agencies. 

During his tenure as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida, Sterling investigated and prosecuted a variety of crimes, including wire fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, import/export violations, and violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. He has significant courtroom experience as a first- or second-chair attorney, including eleven jury trials, multiple bench trials, dozens of contested motion and evidentiary hearings, and oral argument before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Prior to his time at the Department of Justice, Sterling worked as an associate at two international law firms, where he represented pharmaceutical manufacturers, chemical companies, and government contractors in class actions, responses to civil investigative demands and administrative inquiries, internal investigations, and criminal investigations.

Sterling attended the University of Chicago Law School as a David M. Rubenstein Scholar and served on the executive board for the Chicago Journal of International Law.