| Biography |
Born in Liberal, Kansas on July 15, 1946, Roger received his B.A. from the University of Kansas in 1968. He graduated, with honors, from the University of Michigan, where he was an editor of the Michigan Law Review, in 1970. From 1971 to 1984, Roger spent his early career with Howrey & Simon, specializing in national antitrust litigation. He was the firm's 25th attorney and left in 1984 when the firm had grown to over 100. Mr. Simmons was a charter member of a Washington, D.C. K Street firm, Steele, Simmons and Fornaciari from 1984 to 1987, when he left that firm to found Gordon & Simmons with his old friend, Ralph Gordon, in Frederick, Maryland. Since the creation of Gordon & Simmons in 1987, Roger has specialized in commercial litigation, including construction litigation, major defamation litigation, legal malpractice, Patriot Act litigation, and litigation for investigative journalists. After spending a summer while in law school working on Wall Street, upon graduation, Roger began his career in Washington, D.C. as an antitrust attorney practicing with a large firm that specialized in national commercial litigation. Among the companies he represented were: Anheuser Busch; Shell Oil; Exxon; Wagner Electric; Kmart; Ashland Oil; APAC; and dozens of other major companies in trademark, antitrust, regulatory, and similar disputes all around the country. Six years after becoming a partner there, Roger decided to broaden his practice to include First Amendment issues, contract litigation, employment, legal malpractice, corporate acquisition disputes, corporate control disputes, and dozens of smaller corporate and personal matters, so he left that firm and started his own practice. While in Frederick, he has had the opportunity to debate Ken Starr on public court television, co-counsel with Johnnie Cochran, represent national television producers and newscasters, best-selling writers, and to confront some of this country's leading newsmakers, including, a former head of covert operations for the CIA, several billionaire entrepreneurs, and a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces. He has represented churches and charities of all denominations, negotiated with top Federal special prosecutors and encountered the best legal minds of our generation. Through this, he has prided himself on his human touch and ability to deliver an affordable product to the small businessman and his/her employees in all of their disputes. Roger has personally settled cases in the last seven years with paydays for his plaintiff clients in the following ranges: $15,000; $25,000; $50,000; $100,000; $400,000; $500,000; $600,000; $1,900,000; $900,000; $3,200,000; $9,800,000, $14,400,000. Many of these cases were undertaken on a contingency or partial contingency. Others were undertaken on an hourly fee basis. In all cases, the clients received a fair value for their investment. By contrast, Roger has acted as defense counsel in numerous cases and has never lost a large jury or judge verdict for a client. Roger is a member of the American Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, and the bars in the state of Michigan, the District of Columbia, and Frederick County, Maryland. |