Ken Simon has more than 30 years experience as a judge and litigator.  After law school graduation in 1979 he began his career in a litigation firm in Mobile, Alabama.  In 1983, he was one of 13 people named as White House Fellow and served as a Special Assistant to Attorney General William French Smith.  In that position, Mr. Simon worked for the Attorney General and his Chief of Staff, working directly with assistant attorneys general, bureau directors, and other senior Department of Justice officials. Later, as an Assistant Director and Branch Chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement in Washington, D.C., Mr. Simon supervised investigations of possible violations of the federal securities laws.

Ken has extensive experience in representing public agencies and their boards in contractual, litigation, employment, insurance, bond issuance, transactional, personnel law, and other matters.  He also represents private parties in their dealings with governmental commissions and agencies.  Among other things, for many years he led the firm’s representation of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority.  Ken also represented the Personnel Board of Jefferson County for several years in matters including general and administrative litigation, employment, and quasi-judicial matters.

Additionally, he has represented numerous public agencies in bond transactions, serving as co-bond, underwriter’s and Authority counsel in various transactions, including the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center’s refinancing of more than $80 million of its outstanding bonds, the issuance of more than $200 million in debt securities by the State of Alabama, and the issuance of millions of dollars in debt securities by the Alabama Public Finance Authority, the Alabama Water Pollution Control Authority, the Alabama Public School & College Authority, the State Industrial Development Authority, and the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority.

Mr. Simon has also represented the interests of private entities in connection with various matters before public agencies and governments.   In 1999 he served as Chairman of the  Governor’s Tort Reform Advisory Committee.  As a result of his work in advising and representing public agencies and private entities, Mr. Simon has been named Best of the Bar in Governmental Relations by the Birmingham Business Journal.

Since coming to Birmingham in 1989, Mr. Simon has served as a trial court judge in Jefferson County, the state’s largest judicial district, and has developed a reputation as a skilled litigator, mediator/arbitrator, and advisor to public agencies.   Mr. Simon has also contributed to the Birmingham community through service on the boards of numerous charitable organizations.

Representative Experience:

SECURITIES, BUSINESS AND COMPLEX LITIGATION

• Represented executives of several Alabama-based firms in insider trading investigations by the SEC.
• Represented securities brokers and accounting firm employees in connection with SEC investigation of insider trading in stock of local bank.
• Represented a director of a Nashville-based health care company in insider trading with the SEC in Jacksonville, Florida.
• Represented a Fortune 500 company before the SEC in connection with the possible manipulation of certain of its securities.
• Represented brokers and firms in various regulatory investigations by the Alabama Securities Commission.
• Served as court-appointed receiver of investment firm sued by the SEC and distributed recovered funds to several hundred investors.
• Successfully litigated “failure to supervise” claims against a national broker-dealer in administrative proceedings before the SEC.
• Represented registered representatives in regulatory proceedings brought by the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and in arbitration proceedings brought by private investors.
• Represented high-level executives of Fortune 500 health care firm in insider trading investigation and securities fraud cases.
• Co-counsel with national law firms in defending major accounting firms in securities litigation involving audits of Alabama publicly traded companies.
• Represented national and regional brokerage firms in cases involving the enforcement of non-compete agreements between brokerage firms and brokers.
• Represented several investors in claims against national brokerage firms in arbitration before the NASD.
• Co-counsel with New York counsel in successfully representing shareholders of a public company in increasing the offering price paid in a tender offer for the purchase of the company’s shares.

MEDIATION & ARBITRATION/SPECIAL MASTER/RECEIVER APPOINTMENTS

• Appeals Judge, Gulf Coast Claims Facility for BP oil spill claims
• Mediated or arbitrated several hundred cases on a state-wide and regional basis, including Atlanta, Miami, Memphis, St. Louis, Oklahoma City and Sarasota
• Mediation and Arbitration Panelist, JAMS, Atlanta office
• Adjunct Faculty Member, National Judicial College: Dispute Resolution Skills
• Adjunct Faculty Member, Miles College Law School: Lawyering Skills I – Mediation and Arbitration; Lawyering Skills II: The Litigation Process
• Former Member, Alabama Supreme Court Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Former Adjunct Professor of Law, Cumberland School of Law: Alternative Dispute Resolution, (1999)
• Former Arbitrator, National Association of Securities Dealers
• Best Lawyers in America, Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Member, Academy of Court Appointed Masters
• Member, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals
• Certified Mediator, Joseph B. Stulberg Mediation Training Course
• Special Master, Fannie Wayne, et al. v. Monsanto, et al., Jefferson County Circuit Court (PCB litigation involving approximately 4,500 cases)
• Appeals Special Master, Tolbert, et al. v. Monsanto, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (PCB settlement involving approximately 18,000 claimants)
• Court Monitor in Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (monitored the local school board’s compliance with federal guidelines under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)
• Special Master in litigation involving a dispute between shareholders of a large private company
• Special Master in litigation involving the operators of a large gaming operation
• Special Master in pretrial matters involving litigation against several major cigarette manufacturers
• Receiver for investment firm sued by the SEC and distributed recovered funds to several hundred investors
• Receiver for nonprofit organization during litigation between several board members
• Receiver for shopping center during foreclosure proceedings initiated by lender

Professional and Community Involvement: