About John
John Simmons is the founder and managing partner of Simmons Law Firm, LLC, located at 1711 Pickens Street in Columbia, South Carolina. He was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1987. The firm specializes in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, products and pharmaceutical liability, premises liability, medical malpractice. White-collar criminal defense cases. Mr. Simmons earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1987. During his academic tenure, he was a member of the Law Review, the Order of the Coif, and the Order of Wig and Robe. He also participated in the regional Mock Trial Team and received the J.
Woodrow Lewis Appellate Advocacy Award. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable William W. Wilkins, formerly Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Before establishing his private practice, Mr. Simmons served as the United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina, appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 — At 34, he was the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation at that time. In this role, he oversaw all civil and criminal federal cases in the state.
Prior to this appointment, he was an Assistant United States Attorney, handling prosecutions involving environmental and white-collar crimes. After his tenure as U.S. Attorney, he became the Chief of the State Grand Jury in the South Carolina Attorney General's Office. Mr. Simmons has been recognized for his legal achievements, including inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America" for seven consecutive years and selection as a South Carolina Super Lawyer for over a decade. He holds Martindale-Hubbell’s highest AV rating and is a member of the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Simmons has contributed to public service through appointments to various boards and commissions, such as the South Carolina Commission on Ethics Reform and the South Carolina Ethics Commission.
He has also served on federal magistrate judges selection committees. He continues to support his community, including endowing a scholarship in his name at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Outside of his professional endeavors, Mr. Simmons enjoys spending time with his family, including his granddaughter, and often visits his farm in the South Carolina low country. He has a focus on sports and was a walk-on letterman on the 1981 University of South Carolina baseball team, which finished fourth in the College World Series. For several years, he served as an assistant coach for a local American Legion baseball team.
