Andrew J. Simons currently serves the law school as Vice Dean
Emeritus. Since returning to the law school in 2000, he has
served in a variety of capacities, including Associate Academic
Dean, Vice Dean and Acting Dean. He chairs the law school’s
Strategic Planning Committee and teaches Torts and New York Civil
Practice.
A member of the Class of 1965 where he was the Editor-in-Chief
of the St. John’s Law Review, Dean Simons began his legal career as
a Law Clerk to Hon. Adrian P. Burke (Associate Judge, New York
State Court of Appeals) (1965-67), practiced law as an Associate
with the Manhattan firm of Willkie, Farr & Gallagher (1967-71)
and served as Confidential Law Secretary to Hon. Daniel P. Albert
(Nassau County Supreme Court) (1971-73). In 1973, he returned
to his Alma Mater for the first time in the capacity of Associate
Dean and Professor of Law, a position he held until 1982 when he
left academia for the private practice of law.
From 1982 to 2000 Dean Simons was the partner-in-charge of the
Environmental Practice Group at Farrell Fritz PC, a mid-size
general practice firm on Long Island. Much of his practice
dealt with complex superfund litigation.
Admitted to practice in the courts of New York State, the United
States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the
Federal and Second Circuits, and the United States District Court
for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, Dean Simons is
also a member of numerous professional associations and
committees. A Past President and permanent member of the Board
of Directors of the Nassau County Bar Association, he is active in
the New York State Bar Association (Environmental Law Section), and
the American Bar Association (Section on Legal Education and
Admission to the Bar), and has participated in the American Bar
Association’s Accreditation Process (1980 to present). He
previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Law
School Alumni Association and as Chair of the Association’s
Academic Advisory Committee, positions from which he resigned when
he assumed his role as Associate Academic Dean.
Dean Simons earned an A.B. in English Literature from the College
of the Holy Cross (1960) and, following graduation, served as a
Lieutenant (jg) in the United States Navy from 1960-62. He has
resided in Westbury, Long Island, with his first wife, Eileen, for
over forty years.