Meet Eric Pauly, associate general counsel at IMA Financial Group

Eric Pauly hit the books and opposing players hard as a linebacker for Colorado State University. Three time an academic All-American and twice a team captain, he wanted to give pro football a try after college.

"That didn't work out, so I went to law school at Washburn (University) in Topeka," he said.

That decision has worked out pretty well. After graduating from Washburn, Pauly earned his masters of tax law from New York University, then returned to Wichita and started practicing at Foulston Siefkin in 2009.

Pauly moved to IMA last month. He manages its legal department and work on matters such corporate law, securities law and intellectual property as General Counsel SueAnn Schultz transitions to chief administrative officer for the employee-owned insurance broker.

"I wasn't really looking to leave – I loved Foulston Siefkin and the clients I was working with," Pauly said. But he said he's looking forward to "the chance to kind of focus on one client and be involved in the business side of things."

Pauly grew up on a dairy farm outside Conway Springs in what he calls a big German Catholic family. He and his wife, Dr. Terra Pauly, a dentist in Wichita, have four children: Fiona, 6; Felena, 4; Pierce, 2; and Ronan, 8 months.

Pauly is a board member for Rise Up for Youth in Wichita and active in the United Way of the Plains. He enjoys fishing and hunting on property he owns with his brothers near Conway Springs and says he is "trying to get a little country" in his own children.

Joe Stumpe

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 10:43 AM with the headline "Meet Eric Pauly, associate general counsel at IMA Financial Group."