Richard Paschal is an associate attorney in Tharrington Smith’s Education Section. After receiving his undergraduate degree in history and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Richard received both a master’s degree and a law degree from the University of Virginia, where he was Articles Editor for the Virginia Law Review and was awarded the Davis Prize in Constitutional Law.  

After working as a judicial clerk for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and then as an associate in Washington, DC, Dr. Paschal received his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University in 2006. Dr. Paschal then taught American legal and constitutional history over the next ten years at the George Mason University School of Law and, then, at the Campbell University School of Law.  Since then, Dr. Paschal has been back in the courtroom, advising and litigating on behalf of public school boards and clients in federal, state courts and OAH.

He is currently a member of the North Carolina Council of School Attorneys, the National Council of School Attorneys, and the Education Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association.

Dr. Paschal is the author of the book, Jim Crow in North Carolina: The Legislative Program from 1865 to 1920 (2021).  He volunteers with Legal Aid of North Carolina and is a member of the Coordinating Council at his church. His wife, Jennifer, teaches voice and piano, and they have two wonderful children.