Paul William Grimm (born December 26, 1951) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
Education
Judge Grimm attended the University of California, Davis, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Rhetoric in 1973, summa cum laude. While at Davis, Judge Grimm was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Reserve Officer Training Corps. In 1976, he received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of New Mexico School of Law.
Grimm received his Master of Laws from Duke University School of Law.
Career
Born in Yokohama, Japan, Grimm has had both a military and civilian career in the law. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1973, he was released from service in 1979 as a captain and continued his service as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve until 2001. In active service, his legal duties included the Judge Advocate General's Corps in Fort Bliss, Texas. In 1980, as a civilian, he joined the State's Attorney's Office for Baltimore County, Maryland and shortly thereafter became an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland. From 1984 until 1997, Judge Grimm worked in private practice handling commercial litigation until his appointment as United States magistrate judge. Judge Grimm has written numerous books and articles on subjects including electronic discovery, civil procedure, evidence and trial practice and lectures frequently on these topics. He also teaches courses on these subjects at the University of Maryland School of Law and the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Federal judicial service
On February 16, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Grimm to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. He would replace Judge Benson Everett Legg who has announced that he is taking senior status effective June 8, 2012. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on his nomination on May 9, 2012, and reported his nomination to the floor on June 7, 2012. The Senate confirmed his nomination on December 3, 2012, by a 92–1 vote, with Senator Roy Blunt casting the sole no vote. He received his commission on December 6, 2012. He assumed senior status on December 11, 2022. Grimm retired from active service on December 30, 2022.
Awards
During law school, Grimm was awarded the Order of Coif and served on the Law Review. Grimm has also received several military awards, including the Parachutist Badge, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal. His other awards include: Distinguished Service Award, Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers (1998) Professional Legal Excellence Award for the Advancement of Professional Competence Maryland Bar Foundation (2001) Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year, University of Maryland School of Law (2002 and 2006) Maryland Leadership in Law Award, Daily Record (2004)