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Paul Grewal
Paul Grewal is Cognition's Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer and former Coinbase Chief Legal Officer.
India
About
Paul Grewal is a technology lawyer and executive serving as Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer at Cognition. He previously spent six years as Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, where he oversaw legal, compliance, global intelligence, risk, and government relations. Before Coinbase, he was Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Facebook and served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of California. His earlier legal practice focused on complex litigation, intellectual property, and patent matters. Grewal holds a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MIT and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. His current work is focused on legal and global affairs in the artificial intelligence sector. Quick Facts about Paul Grewal: Field Details Full Name Paul Singh Grewal Current Position Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer Current Company Cognition Previous Leadership Roles Chief Legal Officer, Coinbase; VP & Deputy General Counsel, Facebook; Partner, Howrey Judicial Experience U.S. Magistrate Judge, Northern District of California Previous Companies / Institutions Coinbase, Facebook/Meta, Howrey, Day Casebeer, Pillsbury Education MIT; University of Chicago Law School Degree B.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering; J.D. Board Experience Epiq; Zapproved; Law Foundation of Silicon Valley Career Overview of Paul Grewal: Paul Grewal began his legal career through federal judicial clerkships and private litigation practice, developing expertise in complex commercial, intellectual property, and patent matters. He became a partner at Howrey before moving to the federal bench as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of California in 2010. In 2016, he moved into technology-company legal leadership as Facebook's Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. He joined Coinbase as Chief Legal Officer in 2020 and led its legal function through a period of major regulatory activity in digital assets. In August 2026, he moved to Cognition as Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer. Career Timeline: Year Career Development 1993 Completed B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. 1996 Earned J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. Post-1996 Served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Sam H. Bell of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Early career Practiced complex commercial litigation at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro and later worked in intellectual property and patent litigation at Day Casebeer. 2009 Joined Howrey LLP as a partner in its East Palo Alto office and participated in firm leadership. 2010 Appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of California. 2016 Left the federal bench and joined Facebook as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. 2020 Joined Coinbase as Chief Legal Officer in August. 2020 Appointed to the Epiq board of directors in December. 2021 Joined the Zapproved board of directors in July. 2026 Joined Cognition as Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer in August.
Experience
Other
Cognition
Aug 2026 to Present
Chief Legal & Global Affairs Officer
Other, Vice President
Facebook (Fb)
Jun 2016 to Aug 2020
Deputy General Counsel
Other
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Dec 2010 to Jun 2016
United States Magistrate Judge
Other
Howrey LLP
Dec 2000 to Nov 2010
Partner
Other
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Aug 1999 to Sept 2000
Judicial Law Clerk
FAQs
- Paul Grewal is a technology lawyer and executive who currently serves as Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer at Cognition. He previously served as Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase and Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Facebook.