About Thea
Thea Paolini brings a combination of legal training and business education to her work at a suburban Washington firm. She graduated from Gettysburg College in 2008 with a B.S. in Biology. That scientific grounding preceded her decision to enter law. She earned her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2015 and added an MBA from Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business in 2017, concentrating in Strategic Leadership and Entrepreneurship.
Her early legal career included an associate position at Nauman Smith Shissler & Hall in 2018. She later joined Cook Craig & Francuzenko, PLLC as an associate in 2021. Those roles gave her experience inside law firms where client work spans research, drafting, and courtroom preparation. Colleagues describe her as methodical in legal research and practical in written advocacy.
Paolini is admitted to practice in three jurisdictions: Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania. She maintains active memberships in the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and the State Bar of Pennsylvania. Those admissions allow her to represent clients across state lines and in matters that touch multiple regulatory systems.
Her academic choices—biology, law, and business—shape how she approaches assignments. The science background encourages attention to detail and evidence. The law degree supplies procedural and substantive tools. The MBA adds a business perspective on risk, structure, and strategy. Together they provide a foundation for advising clients whose needs intersect law and commerce, especially where legal issues have operational or strategic implications for an organization.
At Cook Craig & Francuzenko, Paolini handles matters typical of an associate attorney: case preparation, client counseling, and drafting pleadings and agreements. She has worked on projects that require coordination across teams and jurisdictions. Her practice combines courtroom preparedness with attention to clients’ business considerations.
Outside of case work she has kept ties to professional organizations in each jurisdiction where she is admitted. She also remains connected to the business community through her MBA network. Paolini continues to develop her practice at Cook Craig & Francuzenko, PLLC, where she focuses on advising and representing clients on legal issues affecting businesses.
