Ms. Simerly has been practicing law since 1977, most recently as a shareholder in the employment law practice group at Seyfarth Shaw. Focusing on jury trials, Ms. Simerly is well known for her courtroom skills. She has tried over 35 cases to verdict with notable success, including a defense verdict in June 2007 in a multi-plaintiff racial discrimination/harassment case and a December 2006 defense verdict in a whistleblower/retaliation case. While both these cases were tried in San Francisco Superior Court, Ms. Simerly has tried cases throughout California as well as in numerous federal courts throughout the country during her 30 years of practice.
Ms. Simerly is a member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates and taught advanced litigation and advocacy skills for a variety of organizations. She has served on the faculty of the Trial Academy programs sponsored by the International Association of Defense Counsel. She was also on the faculty of the Champions of the Courtroom annual trial symposium sponsored by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of California.
Ms. Simerly received her J.D. cum laude in 1977 from Loyola University in New Orleans, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Loyola Law Review. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from St. Mary’s Dominican College in 1974.