Ken Simon has over 40 years of experience as a judge, lawyer, mediator/arbitrator, and special master. He began his career in a litigation firm in Mobile, Alabama. In 1983 he served as a White House Fellow and as Special Assistant to Attorney General William French Smith and later as an Assistant Director and Branch Chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement in Washington, D.C. where he conducted and supervised investigations of possible violations of the federal securities laws. Ken returned to Alabama and served several years as a circuit court judge in the state’s largest judicial district. After leaving the bench, he resumed his legal practice as a litigator, mediator/arbitrator, and advisor to public agencies.

Ken has and continues to contribute to the Birmingham community through service on the boards of numerous charitable organizations including the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees, the University of South Alabama Board of Trustees, the Baptist Health System Foundation Board, and chaired the boards of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School and Cornerstone Schools of Alabama.

 


ADMISSIONS

  • Alabama
  • United States Court of Appeals, 11th District
  • United States Court of Federal Claims
  • United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama
  • United States District Court, Middle District of Alabama
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Alabama

PRACTICE AREAS

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Business Services and Commercial Litigation
  • Governmental Liability

EDUCATION 

  • University of South Alabama, B.A., 1976
  • University of Alabama School of Law, J.D., 1979

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 

  • University of Alabama System: Board of Trustees (2021 – Present)
  • University of South Alabama: Chair Pro Tem, Board of Trustees (2016 – 2019), Vice-Chair Pro Tem (2012-2016)
  • Volunteers of America Greater Southeast Real Estate Corp.
  • American Bar Association: Member, Standing Committee Chair on Mediation Ethical Guidance (October 2011 – Present), Section of Dispute Resolution Chair, Sub-committee on Securities Enforcement (1998-1999), Chair Committee on Consumer and Personal Rights (1999 – 2002)
  • Birmingham Bar Association: Executive Committee (1996 – 1999)
  • Jefferson County Judicial Commission: Member, Chairman (1999-2005)
  • Governor’s Tort Reform Advisory Committee: Chair (1999)
  • Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School: Former Board Chair
  • Cornerstone Schools of Alabama: Former Board Chair
  • Baptist Health System Foundation: Board Member
  • Bay Area Food Bank: Founding President
  • Birmingham Emmaus Community: Founding Community Lay Director

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION 

  • White House Fellow/Special Assistant to the Attorney General: 1983 – 1984
  • MLK Dream Keepers Award for Social Justice, Presented by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference: 59th Annual Convention, July 2017
  • Walter P. Gewin Award for Outstanding Contribution to Continuing Legal Education in Alabama, Presented by the Alabama Bar Institute-Continuing Legal Education, 2000
  • University of South Alabama Distinguished Alumni & Service Award, 2007
  • Alabama SuperLawyers
  • Colorado Super Lawyers
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers
  • Best Lawyers in America®: Arbitration, Medication, and Commercial Litigation (2013 – 2020)
  • Best Law Firms, Best Lawyers in America® and U.S. News & World Report (2021)
  • National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, Member
  • Academy of Court Appointed Masters, Member
  • Alabama Law Foundation, Fellow
  • Birmingham Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • Birmingham Business Journal, “Best of the Birmingham Bar:” Alternative Resolution and Governmental Relations
  • B-Metro Magazine, Top Flight Attorneys
  • Certified Mediator, Joseph B. Stulberg Mediation Training Course

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE 

  • Represented executives of several Alabama-based firms in insider trading investigations by the SEC.
  • Represented a Huntsville-based investment adviser in civil litigation and an investigation by the Alabama Securities Commission.
  • 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 healthcare company in insider trading civil litigation 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.
  • 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 FINRA.
  • 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.
  • Appeals Judge, Gulf Coast Claims Facility for BP oil spill claims
  • Arbiter, Judicial Arbiter Group, Inc.
  • 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
  • Receiver for local shopping center during foreclosure proceedings initiated by lender (together with a commercial property management firm he engaged, managed the property and dealt with tenants, lenders, owners/investors, and counsel for all litigants)
  • Special Master and Operator of a large electronic gaming operation in the City of Fairfield, Alabama (managed the day-to-day operations generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue and expenses, and managed relations with employees, suppliers, vendors, customers, and local government officials)
  • Court Monitor in Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (inspected and reported on the buildings and facilities of all Birmingham Board of Education’s public high schools in connection with the local school board’s compliance with federal guidelines under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)
  • Receiver for investment firm sued by the SEC (formulated a distribution plan and distributed over $1 million in recovered funds to several hundred investors around the nation)
  • Receiver for nonprofit organization during litigation between several board members (managed the organization’s building, facilities, finances, and other day-to-day operations)
  • 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)
  • Special Master in litigation involving a dispute between shareholders of a large private company
  • Special Master in pretrial matters involving litigation against several major cigarette manufacturers

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS 

  • Presenter, Birmingham Bar Association Membership Forum: Ethics Opinions from the State Bar: You Were Serious Abou That (March 2019)
  • Moderator, Keynote Presentation at the Academy of Court Appointed Masters (ACAM) Annual Meeting (April 2019)
  • Presenter, Alabama Lawyers Association Annual Meeting: Effective Mediation Strategies for Complex Cases (May 2019)
  • Presenter, Alabama City-County Management Association Annual Meeting: Navigating Ethical Issues in Public Management (June 2019)
  • Presenter, CCM Annual Compliance Meeting and Training Session: Review of Recent SEC Compliance-Related Cases (December 2016)
  • Presenter, National Judicial College: Negotiation Problem Solving: Getting to “Yes” (May 2015)
  • Presenter, National Judicial College: The Mediator as Leader (June 2016)
  • Presenter, Birmingham Bar Association Mediation CLE Program: Representing Your Client at Mediation (2013)
  • Presenter, ExecSense Webinar: What Litigators Need to Know About the Impact of Cloud Computing one e-Discovery Obligations in Litigation (December 2011)
  • Author, Making the Transition from Great Trial Lawyering to Great Mediation Advocacy, Birmingham Bar Association Journal (Winter 2011)
  • Presenter, 5th Annual Arbitration Institute ICLE/State Bar of Georgia: Presenting a Successful Case in Commercial Arbitration (August 2011)
  • Presenter, JAMS/GABWA/Gate City Bar Association: Effective Techniques in Mediation Advocacy (April 2011)
  • Presenter, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law CLE Program: Negotiating with Medicare and Medicaid (October 2010)
  • Author, The Risks of Cloud Computing, Technology Alabama, 34 (Fall 2010)
  • Presenter, ExecSense Webinar: Best Persuasion Tips for Litigators (October 2010)
  • Presenter, ExecSense Webinar: What ADR Lawyers Need to Know About the Effect of a Party’s Bankruptcy on Pending Arbitration (September 2010)
  • Presenter, American Bar Association Litigation Seminar: Consumer Arbitration: Is It Fair? (2008). Reprinted in Consumer Arbitration: Global Trends, edited by Audhi Narayana Vavli (2008-2009)
  • Presenter, American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division: Rules for Surviving Cross-Examination (2007)
  • Presenter, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Workshop: Questioning the Witness (2005)
  • Presenter, Alabama Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education: Baston Challenges in the Aftermath of Purkett (1997)
  • Presenter at the ExecSense Webinar: What Litigators Need to Know About the Impact of Cloud Computing on e-Discovery Obligations in Litigation.” (December 2, 2011).
  • Presenter for the 5th Annual Arbitration Institute ICLE/State Bar of Georgia: Presenting a Successful Case in Commercial Arbitration (August 2011).
  • Presenter for JAMS/GABWA/Gate City Bar Association: Effective Techniques in Mediation Advocacy (April 2011).
  • Presenter for the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, CLE Program, Negotiating with Medicare and Medicaid (October 29, 2010).
  • The Risks of Cloud Computing, Technology Alabama, 34 (Fall 2010).
  • Presenter at the ExecSense Webinar: Best Persuasion Tips for Litigators (Oct. 28, 2010).
  • Presenter for the ExecSense Webinar: What ADR Lawyers Need to Know about the Effect of a Party’s Bankruptcy on Pending Arbitrations (Sept. 22, 2010).
  • Presenter for the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Seminar: Consumer Arbitration: Is It Fair? (2008). Reprinted in Consumer Arbitration: Global Trends, edited by Audhi Narayana Vavli, (2008-2009).
  • Presenter at the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Seminar: Rules for Surviving Cross-Examination (2007).
  • Presenter at the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Workshop: Questioning the Witness (2005).
  • Presenter at the Alabama Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education: SEC Enforcement: Civil and Criminal Considerations in Dealing with the SEC in Financial Fraud Cases (2004).
  • Presenter at the Attorneys Insurance Malpractice of Alabama Seminar: Getting It Right the First Time: Tips for Avoiding Legal Malpractice (2003).
  • Presenter at the Alabama Young Lawyers Seminar: Keys to Successful Mediation (1999).
  • Presenter at the Alabama Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education: Batson Challenges in the Aftermath of Purkett (1997).
  • How to Create the Winning Image for Your Client International Commercial Litigation (June 1996).
  • The Law of Expert Testimony in Alabama, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Journal (April 1996).
  • Mediation and the Courts, Birmingham Bar Association Bulletin, 8 (Summer 1995).
  • An Overview of Jury Trials, 54 The Alabama Lawyer 3 (1993).
  • Summary Judgment Practice and Procedure, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Journal (1993).
  • Recent SEC Enforcement Cases Involving Broker-Dealers, Registered Representatives and Investment Advisors, Arkansas CLE Seminar (1992).
  • Presenter at the Cumberland Institute for Continuing Legal Education Annual Business Torts and Antitrust Law Seminar: Liability Attorneys, Accountants, and Other Professionals under the Securities Laws (Nov. 6, 1992).
  • The Duty of Broker-Dealers to Supervise Sales and Back-Office Operations (1991).
  • Overview of Federal Securities Law: The Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (1991).
  • Presenter at the Cumberland Institute for Continuing Legal Education Securities Law: The Revised Alabama Securities Act Seminar: What is Security? (June 29, 1990).
  • Kenneth O. Simon & Gary Lynch, Recent Developments and Enforcement Activity Involving Beneficial Ownership Reporting, Tender Offers and Insider Trading, in Practicing Law Institute Handbook (1989).
  • Presenter at numerous Continuing Legal Education Seminars on the topics of Trial Practice, Jury Selection, Punitive Damages, Mediation, Arbitration, Workers Compensation, Evidence, Civil Procedure, Professional Ethics, Judicial Selection, and Securities Law.