Finley is currently the director of communications at Chapman University School of Law, where he has also taught legal research and writing. He is a litigation attorney with extensive experience in motion research and legal publishing. Previously he was a senior member of the law and motion department at the firm Spray, Gould & Bowers, where he conducted legal research in state and federal court and worked up a number of cases for trial and arbitration.
Finley graduated in 1989 from Hastings College of the Law, where he was a member of the Moot Court Honors Board, a recipient of an American Jurisprudence award, and an award winner for best written brief.
He is the creator and co-author of nearly two dozen state versions of texts discussing motions in limine. He is also the creator and former editor in chief of the national voir dire newsletter The Jury Expert.