About W. Paulette
W. Paulette Francois earned her undergraduate degrees before turning to the law. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Alfred University and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Webster University. Francois completed her Juris Doctor at Widener University Delaware School of Law in 1990. Those academic years shaped a pragmatic approach to legal work and an interest in how law intersects with people’s everyday lives.
Her career spans both state and federal practice. Francois is admitted to the bars of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and she is also authorized to appear in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Over the years she has handled matters that required appearances in state courts and in federal court. She has worked on cases that demanded courtroom preparation, motion practice, and negotiation on behalf of clients. Colleagues describe her as thorough in preparing filings and attentive during hearings.
Francois’s courtroom experience informs how she manages client matters. She balances litigation tasks with counseling clients about procedural risks and realistic outcomes. In filings and oral arguments she tends to emphasize clarity and organization. That approach carries through when she coordinates discovery, drafts dispositive motions, or prepares witnesses for testimony. She also navigates the procedural differences between state practice and the federal docket, which can be a deciding factor in strategy.
Today Francois maintains a practice based in Philadelphia. From that office she represents clients in matters brought in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She handles both contested court matters and pretrial work. Her practice emphasizes careful case management and courtroom readiness. Currently, she focuses on representing clients in state and federal matters from her Philadelphia office.
