The former dean of Chapman University‘s law school is suing his employer, saying he was demoted from his leadership position last year because he is openly gay.
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Paul Paton, who led the Dale E. Fowler School of Law from May 2023 until his removal on Oct. 1, 2025, filed a seven-count complaint in Orange County Superior Court earlier this month alleging, among other things, sexual orientation discrimination.
Chapman officials denied the allegation, saying the school did not discriminate against Paton and that it will fight the case in court.
In the lawsuit, Paton claims he lost his position as head of the law school at a time when Chapman was backing away from diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Paton’s job change came about six months after Chapman dissolved its formal DEI program, including putting two former DEI leaders on leave and changing its name to the First-Generation and Promising Futures program.
Paton also alleges he’d faced “ongoing discrimination” by Chapman leaders and colleagues while serving as dean, and that the discrimination “accelerated” after he married his husband in late 2024.
Paton’s attorney suggested that the school’s supporters were never comfortable with his client’s sexual orientation.
“Paton was terminated because Chapman’s influencers seized upon the opportunity to eliminate that which they were never interested in the first place, having a dean of the law school who was openly gay,” said Paton’s attorney, Jason Kirby.
In a statement, Paton described his demotion as “discriminatory and retaliatory.”
“I am proud of what we accomplished during my relatively short time as dean; admitting the three strongest classes ever, achieving the highest ranking for the law school nationally since 2012, having no students transfer out in 2025 for the first time in recent memory, and changing a culture and retooling for success. I had hoped to be able to do more,” he said.
“I built a reputation for ethics and integrity long before I started at Chapman, and I am doing my best not to let what the university has done, and how they’ve done it, define me. But that means taking action.”
According to the complaint, Chapman said Paton’s firing was due to a $2 million overage in spending, stemming from the “awarding of scholarships well in excess of budget without any conversation with (or approval from) senior leadership.” But Paton disputes that, and his attorney, Kirby, said the termination was “based on wholly pretextual and bogus grounds.”
Chapman officials denied that allegation.
“The university’s decision to remove Mr. Paton as dean was based solely on its assessment that effective financial oversight by a new dean was required,” said school spokesperson Robert Hitchcock.
Paton continues to teach law at Chapman, as a tenured professor, and Hitchcock described him as a “valued member of the law school faculty.”
After a national search, Chapman hired Antony Page, previously the law school dean at Florida International University, to replace Paton.
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