Paul D. Ziel - Attorney/Partner

Paul D. Ziel is a seasoned trial attorney with extensive courtroom experience, including having had 25 jury trials and more than 100 bench trials. Paul has argued cases in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Idaho State Supreme Court, and the Idaho Court of Appeals.

Paul’s practice focuses primarily on civil litigation and federal criminal defense. Paul’s typical civil cases involve corporate representation, business formation, contract drafting, contract litigation, and land use and construction disputes. Additionally, Paul handles probate matters and guardianship cases. Paul is the attorney for the Bonneville County Board of Community Guardians, which is the largest board of guardians in the State of Idaho.

Prior to his work in private practice, Paul served as a judicial law clerk in the Seventh Judicial District of Idaho from 2006 to 2007. Afterwards, Paul worked as a prosecuting attorney in Bonneville and Jefferson counties from 2007 to 2014. As a prosecutor, Paul handled a wide range of cases, including multiple high-profile felonies. Paul has multiple certifications in mediation and has mediated approximately 250 disputes throughout his career. In addition to his legal work, Paul worked as an online instructor for BYU-Idaho from 2011 to 2018 in which he taught logic and analytical reasoning classes and helped pilot some of the early BYU Pathway classes.

Paul graduated from the J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah in 2006. Prior to receiving his law degree, Paul earned degrees in Economics and Business Management from Brigham Young University and Ricks College respectively. He is a proud graduate of Rigby High School. As a law student, Paul was a senior editor of the BYU Journal of Public Law and published two legal articles. He worked as a research assistant for professors specializing in land use law and real property law and actively participated in the alternative dispute resolution club.

Paul has served as the past president of the Eagle Rock Inn of Court and the Idaho Falls Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

Outside of the law, Paul enjoys spending time with his family, mountain biking, volunteering in the community, learning the piano, and exploring Idaho’s great outdoors. Paul speaks fluent Danish.