Areas of Expertise

• Maritime Security and Law of the Sea 
• Law of Armed Conflict
• Public International Law 
• Irregular Warfare and Hybrid Threats

Academic Degrees

• Master of Laws, National Security Law, Georgetown University School of Law
• Juris Doctor, Saint Louis University School of Law
• Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, Stetson University

Commander Kathy Paradis joined the Marshall Center in July 2024 and is a military professor of International Law on the faculty of the College of International and Strategic Studies.  She also serves on the Faculty Advisory Committee and as a member of the Artificial Intelligence Steering Committee.

Commander Paradis is a judge advocate (lawyer) in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps.  Prior to joining the Marshall Center, Commander Paradis completed an operational deployment as the legal advisor to Commander, Carrier Strike Group TWO, embarked on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), where she advised on the law of armed conflict and the law of the sea during combat operations to defend merchant shipping from Houthi aggression in the Red Sea. Prior assignments include as the legal advisor to Commander, Task Force SEVEN FOUR in Yokosuka, Japan, and to Commander Submarine Group NINE in Bangor, Washington, where she worked on counter-unmanned aerial system policy.  She served twice in the Office of the Navy JAG in Washington, D.C., first as an administrative law attorney and government ethics counselor, and later as a strategic planner, where she led planning and implementation of strategic initiatives for the U.S. Navy JAG Corps.  She deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Commander Paradis’s graduate paper on the applicability of the law of armed conflict to the weaponization of deep fakes was published in the Naval Law Review in 2022. 

Commander Paradis received a Bronze Star Medal for her meritorious service in direct support of maritime combat operations in the Red Sea. Other personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Commander Paradis is also entitled to wear the Combat Action Ribbon, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Commendation, and Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation.