Paul M. Phillips was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. After high school, Paul joined the United States Marine Corps, and served as a command center specialist for Commander, Marine Forces Pacific where he earned a Navy Achievement Medal for his service. Paul also earned his Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Finance, in 1995, from Hawaii Pacific University while on active duty with the United States Marine Corps.

After serving in the Marine Corps, Paul began a career in finance as an investment analyst and eventually moved into securities trading and asset management. While working as a portfolio manager, Paul earned a Masters of Science in Finance, from Seattle University, Albers School of Business, and his Chartered Financial Analyst Designation. He continued to manage fixed income asset portfolios ranging from $1 billion to $325 billion until 2005, when Paul began working in structured finance as Vice-President, Capital Strategies for Washington Mutual Bank. During this time, Paul was instrumental in developing Washington Mutual's first REIT preferred hybrid security, as well as the inaugural U.S. Covered Bond offering, which was named the EuroWeek, 2006 Overall Deal of the Year. Paul earned his law degree from Seattle University School of Law and is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida.

Paul is currently an attorney with Igler & Dougherty, P.A., specializing in banking, securities, and financial law.