Michael A. Simons, J.D. joined the St. John's
faculty in 1998 and was appointed Dean of the School of Law in
2009.
Dean Simons teaches in the areas of criminal law and evidence, and
he has been a frequent lecturer to the bench and bar on both
topics. He was selected by the students as "Professor of the Year"
in 2000 and 2011. From 2005 through 2008, he served as Associate
Dean for Faculty Scholarship. His own scholarship has focused on
sentencing, prosecutorial decision-making and punishment theory.
His articles have appeared in the New York University Law
Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, the George
Mason Law Review, the Villanova Law Review, the
St. John’s Law Review, The Catholic Lawyer, the
Journal of Catholic Legal Studies, the Journal of
Civil Rights and Economic Development, and the Temple
Political and Civil Rights Law Review.
Since 2001, he has been a Fellow with the Vincentian Center for
Church and Society. During 2005 and 2006, he was a member of
the New York City Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. He
has also been involved with St. John's efforts to increase the
diversity of the legal profession, including by organizing and
hosting the annual Catholic Middle Schools Mock Trial Program, by
teaching in the Ronald H. Brown Center's Summer Prep Program and by
lecturing for Legal Outreach.
Dean Simons graduated magna cum laude from the College of
the Holy Cross in 1986 and magna cum laude from the
Harvard Law School in 1989, where he was an editor of the
Harvard Law Review. After law school, Dean Simons clerked
for the Honorable Louis F. Oberdorfer of the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia (1989-90). He later served as a
staff attorney for The Washington Post (1990-91), as an
Associate at Stillman, Friedman & Shaw (1991-95), and as an
Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New
York (1995-98).
A graduate of Chaminade High School in Mineola, NY, Dean Simons
resides on Long Island with his wife Karen and their five
children.