# Paul Grewal

![Paul Grewal](/resources/cognition/portraits/paul-grewal.webp)

Chief Legal & Global Affairs Officer at Cognition; ex-Coinbase CLO, ex-Facebook Deputy GC, former US Magistrate Judge  
Cognition  
San Francisco Bay Area

## At Cognition

- Role: Chief Legal & Global Affairs Officer (Leadership)
- Joined: Aug 2026
- How they joined: Directly
- Before Cognition: Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Coinbase
- Overlapped before Cognition with other Cognition people at: Meta (https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/worked-together)

## Identity
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-grewal-288978b4
- X: @iampaulgrewal

## Notes
- Cognition announced Grewal as Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer on 2026-08-18, citing six years as Coinbase CLO, Facebook VP and Deputy GC, and his N.D. Cal. magistrate judgeship; Cognition wrote: "Few people have thought harder about where technology and law meet." (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cognition-ai-labs_paul-grewal-has-joined-as-our-chief-legal-activity-7495485177691926528-4uwU)
- Removed internal titles on Cognition's legal team: "So if see yourself, as we see ourselves, as simply \"Member of Legal Staff (MLS),\" join us.". (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_we-got-rid-of-internal-titles-on-the-legal-activity-7521997728546222080-XXNG)
- His first 90 days of posts combine team-building (titles removed, Distinguished Lawyer track, policy hiring) with government outreach (India, DNI Clayton). (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_come-help-me-build-the-native-ai-us-policy-activity-7496329297079521281-T99j)
- Amplified Cognition's announced acquisition of Corridor (software security) on 2026-10-29, a deal that sits within his legal remit. (https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2115887382679703838)
- Frames his career as working for three founder CEOs at Meta, Coinbase and Cognition: "They care more about details of the business than you can imagine." (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_over-my-years-at-meta-coinbase-and-cognition-activity-7519080365936889856-IW2S)
- Amplified Cognition's acquisition of Dioxus Labs (Rust UI framework team led by Jonathan Kelley, @jkelleyrtp) to accelerate Devin - an open-source acqui-hire during his tenure. (https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2098113403856576875)
- Has worked alongside Marc Andreessen as investor at Facebook, Coinbase and now Cognition: "I can't believe I get to do it again here at @cognition." (https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2097790655766647034)
- Proposed a "Distinguished Lawyer" track mirroring Distinguished Engineers: "Cognition is going to be one of those companies. Why shouldn't we have a \"Distinguished Lawyer\" for that counsel who has that same kind of aura?" (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_in-many-legendary-technology-companies-the-activity-7495887592966635520-vd5E)
- Publicly endorsed DNI Jay Clayton to lead the administration's superintelligence efforts: "Cognition looks forward to his leadership in yet another area of vital national interest." (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_ive-seen-dni-jay-clayton-up-close-and-at-activity-7512582370923909120-l_9n)
- Met Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Chicago on 2026-10-02 (hosted by USIBC and Illinois Chamber of Commerce) to discuss AI's potential for young people in India - an early global-affairs mandate for Cognition. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_it-was-a-pleasure-to-spend-time-with-indian-activity-7511914890639368192-cgKk)
- Clerked for Judge Arthur Gajarsa at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; calls that year the one that "changed everything for me in career and life." (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_every-law-clerk-knows-no-matter-how-many-activity-7499945166439497728-BJMx)
- Argues AI companies should earn trust the way courts did: through process where both sides are heard and decisions are explained and reviewable. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_my-new-friends-in-ai-looking-to-earn-public-activity-7499084713546895360-zgOq)
- Retweeted CEO Scott Wu denying SpaceX acquisition talks: "Cognition is not for sale and we haven't been talking." (https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2090186875000832276)
- Public headline says "Member of Legal and Policy Staffs at Cognition". (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-grewal-288978b4)
- Carries a judge's advice into Cognition: "do. Don't study, propose or discuss. Just do." (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_i-remember-some-advice-i-got-as-a-newly-minted-activity-7513474844311855104-LI2z)
- Names Judge Sam Bell as "my first real boss" and the source of advice to "Be genuinely excited about the success of people you admire." (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_one-of-the-best-pieces-of-personal-and-professional-activity-7497806981286789121-L6-w)
- Previous roles include Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary at Coinbase; Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Facebook; United States Magistrate Judge at U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; Partner at Howrey LLP; Judicial Law Clerk at U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-grewal-288978b4)
- Education history includes Doctor of Law (J.D.), Law, University of Chicago Law School; Bachelor of Science (BS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-grewal-288978b4)
- Location is San Francisco Bay Area. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-grewal-288978b4)
- Paul Grewal announced on 2026-08-03 that he is joining artificial intelligence startup Cognition AI as chief legal and global affairs officer. (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- In July 2026, Grewal announced his resignation from Coinbase and remains an adviser and a member of the board of Coinbase National Trust Company. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal led Coinbase's defense against a landmark 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit, which the Trump administration later dropped. (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- On June 14, 2022, Coinbase announced that it would lay off 18% of its workforce. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- According to the 2022 Proxy Statement, Grewal beneficially owns 767,759 Class A Common Stock. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal was approved to join the Board of Directors for Zapproved, an electronic discovery software provider, in July 2021. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- On July 9, 2020, it was announced that Grewal would replace Brian Brooks as chief legal officer at Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal retired from the bench on June 3, 2016. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal joined Facebook in June 2016. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- On May 12, 2016, it was reported that Grewal would leave the bench in June 2016 to join Facebook as their vice president and deputy general counsel. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- On December 1, 2010, Grewal was sworn in as a U.S. magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- In 2010, Grewal was named as a "Best Lawyer Under 40" by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal earned a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago in 1996. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil and environmental engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Paul Singh Grewal is an American attorney and former chief legal officer at Coinbase. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal was previously vice president and deputy general counsel at Facebook. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal is a former U.S. magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- At MIT, Grewal was elected to Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Upon graduation from law school, Grewal served as a judicial law clerk for Sam H. Bell of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- After his clerkship, Grewal joined the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (then known as Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro LLP), primarily practicing complex commercial litigation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- After working at Pillsbury, Grewal served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- After his clerkship with Judge Gajarsa, Grewal joined the law firm of Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder (Howrey), where he became a partner and served on the firm's management committee. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- At Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder, Grewal's practice focused on intellectual property litigation and patent litigation, with an emphasis on federal patent trials in district courts and appellate work including the Federal Circuit. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- In private practice, Grewal was a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and performed re-examinations for clients including independent inventors and companies in the high-technology, biotechnology, medical device, and financial firm/service spaces. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal was a former president of the South Asian Bar of Northern California and the Northern American South Asian Bar Association. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal is the former president of the National South Asian Bar Association. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- At the time of his swearing in, Grewal was only the second sitting South Asian federal magistrate judge in the United States. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- While a judge on that court, Grewal sat on the Northern District's Technology Practice and Patent Instructions and Rules Committees. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts to the Federal Judicial Center's Magistrate Judge Education Committee and served as a co-chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association's Judges Committee. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Grewal defended the layoffs, arguing that it needed to be done to "ensure we stay healthy during this economic downturn." Quote: "ensure we stay healthy during this economic downturn." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal)
- Paul Grewal stepped down as Coinbase's chief legal officer after six years at the company. (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Before Coinbase, Grewal served as a California magistrate judge. (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Before Coinbase, Grewal served as vice president and deputy general counsel at Facebook. (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Grewal said that in both AI and crypto, transformational technology raises important questions of law and policy relatively early in their development. Quote: "In both cases you are seeing transformational technology raise important questions of law and policy relatively early in their development." (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Grewal said it is critical that AI remain a bipartisan issue. Quote: "First and foremost, it is critical that this remains a bipartisan issue." (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Grewal said Cognition sits in a unique place in the AI ecosystem as an application equally compatible with all sorts of frontier models as well as open-source models. Quote: "Cognition sits in a unique place in the AI ecosystem as an application that is equally compatible with all sorts of frontier models as well as open-source models." (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Grewal said Windsurf is a good example of the industry seizing on important opportunities that will be good not only for the industry but also for the customers it serves. Quote: "Windsurf is a good example of the industry seizing on important opportunities that are going to be good not only for the industry, but also for the customers that it serves." (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Grewal said reverse acquihiring is pro-competition and that he expects regulators will continue to view it as such. Quote: "This is pro-competition all the way, and I expect that regulators will continue to view it as such." (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Grewal said he very much agrees with the CFTC's position that Congress has preempted most forms of event contract regulation by the states. Quote: "I very much agree with the CFTC’s position that Congress has preempted most forms of event contract regulation by the states." (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)
- Grewal said that to the extent states have legitimate concerns about prediction markets, they ought to raise them legislatively. Quote: "To the extent states have legitimate concerns, they ought to raise them legislatively." (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462)

## Experience
- Member of Legal and Policy Staffs at Cognition (Aug 2026 - Present)
- Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary at Coinbase - San Francisco, California, United States (Sep 2020 - Aug 2026)
- Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Facebook - Menlo Park, California (Jun 2016 - Aug 2020)
- United States Magistrate Judge at U.S. District Court, Northern District of California - San Jose, California (Dec 2010 - Jun 2016)
- Partner at Howrey LLP - California (Dec 2000 - Nov 2010): Day Casebeer LLP (2000-2009)
- Judicial Law Clerk at U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - Washington, District Of Columbia (Aug 1999 - Sep 2000)

## Education
- University of Chicago Law School - Doctor of Law (J.D.), Law - (Jan 1993 - Jan 1996)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Bachelor of Science (BS) - (Jan 1989 - Jan 1993)

## Sources
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-grewal-288978b4
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cognition-ai-labs_paul-grewal-has-joined-as-our-chief-legal-activity-7495485177691926528-4uwU
- https://aisymposium.finreglab.org/speaker/paul-grewal/
- https://x.com/iampaulgrewal
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-grewal-288978b4?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAABhZGogBxp820_o6h_EAiCfVTTds_dKtodI
- https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2026/08/03/cryptos-washington-veteran-on-the-ai-fight-01022462
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grewal
- https://chambers.com/lawyer/paul-grewal-global-2:26332928
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/cognition-ai-labs/posts
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-rettig-8b90a284?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAABHPfI0BBzKpBzo9dyGKPct5BpLCMVgz3G8
- https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/2509458/ex-coinbase-clo-grewal-moves-to-cognition-as-top-lawyer
- https://www.reuters.com/world/coinbases-top-attorney-who-has-led-cryptos-washington-fight-step-down-2026-07-09/
- https://www.socialnews.xyz/2026/10/03/chicago-piyush-goyal-meets-cognition-chief-legal-and-global-affairs-officer-gallery/
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_we-got-rid-of-internal-titles-on-the-legal-activity-7521997728546222080-XXNG
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_come-help-me-build-the-native-ai-us-policy-activity-7496329297079521281-T99j
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_at-cognition-one-of-our-values-is-to-go-activity-7495991404893057024-gYoj
- https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2115887382679703838
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_over-my-years-at-meta-coinbase-and-cognition-activity-7519080365936889856-IW2S
- https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2098113403856576875
- https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2097790655766647034
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_in-many-legendary-technology-companies-the-activity-7495887592966635520-vd5E
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_ive-seen-dni-jay-clayton-up-close-and-at-activity-7512582370923909120-l_9n
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_it-was-a-pleasure-to-spend-time-with-indian-activity-7511914890639368192-cgKk
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_every-law-clerk-knows-no-matter-how-many-activity-7499945166439497728-BJMx
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_my-new-friends-in-ai-looking-to-earn-public-activity-7499084713546895360-zgOq
- https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2090186875000832276
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_i-remember-some-advice-i-got-as-a-newly-minted-activity-7513474844311855104-LI2z
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-grewal-288978b4_one-of-the-best-pieces-of-personal-and-professional-activity-7497806981286789121-L6-w
- https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/2085121392945823953


Researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-04. Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people/paul-grewal · Everyone at Cognition: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people