simon law group llc

Meet Our Team

Dr. David A. Simon, Attorney & Owner

David founded simonlg to provide client-centered, high-quality legal services in real estate, corporate, and intellectual property law.  Since 2008, Dr. Simon has represented clients in litigation, real estate transactions, corporate transactions, and intellectual property transactions. His clients have included hedge fund managers, investment firms, professional athletes, small businesses, and individuals.  He also has worked in private practice, both state and federal judiciaries, and taught courses in law at Harvard University, the University of Kansas School of Law, the Hanken School of Economics, Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona (Spain), and Concordia University. While at Harvard Law School, Dr. Simon worked as an Academic Fellow. From 2019-2020, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, where he taught Torts, Criminal Law, and Patent Law. He is currently a Fellow at the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland. Beginning in the fall of 2020, he will serve as a Visiting Associate Professor and Frank H. Marks Fellow in Intellectual Property Law at George Washington University Law School.

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simonlg consults with clients and law firms on a variety of legal matters, including residential and commercial real estate closings & contract negotiations, international real estate investment, real property tax appeals, corporate formations, corporate governance & structuring, corporate and business acquisition & investment, contract drafting & review, copyright & trademark registrations, licensing agreements, and other intellectual property transactions. Dr. Simon has served as outside general counsel for a variety of businesses. He currently serves as a volunteer attorney at the Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a nonprofit based in Chicago. 

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After graduating with a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan, Dr. Simon earned his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he was selected to the Moot Court Honor Society, Order of the Coif, and Dean's List. He graduated in the top 5% of his class while earning several writing awards from outside organizations. Dr. Simon practiced law in Chicago for several years before earning an LL.M. from Harvard Law School. He also holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, UK, where he was a Cambridge International Scholar (full tuition scholarship & stipend) and member of Trinity College. His dissertation examined the philosophical underpinnings of so-called authors' rights (droit moral) in copyright law. He has published over 13 articles in scholarly journals on subjects ranging from constitutional law to intellectual property law. 

Education

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Ph.D., University of Cambridge (Trinity College), Cambridge, UK

           Cambridge International Scholar (full tuition and stipend)

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LL.M., Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA

Harvard Journal of Law & Technology

Berkman Center for Internet & Society Clinic

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J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL 

High Honors (Top 5% of class)

Order of the Coif

Moot Court Honor Society

Dean's List (all semesters)

Certificate in Intellectual Property law

CALI Award Professional Responsibility

B.A., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

High Distinction (magna cum laude)

Dean's List (all semesters)

James B. Angell Scholar

Experience

Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, KS

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Fellow, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland

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Attorney & Owner, simon law group llc, Chicago, IL

Fellow, Project on Law & Mind Scs., Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA

Teaching Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

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Visiting Professor, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

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Summer Academic Fellow, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA

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Judicial Law Clerk, Hon. Martin C. Ashman, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Chicago, IL

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Associate Attorney, Dahl & Bonadies, Chicago, IL

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Adjunct Professor of Education Law, Concordia Unv., River Forest, IL

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Summer Associate, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson, & Lione, Chicago, IL

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Invited Lectures & Presentations

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Problems in Theory: Intellectual Property

           Fourth Annual IP Mosaic Conference

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Maximizing Profit & Minimizing Tax Burdens: Business Entities 

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Aspects of Intellectual Property Law and Licensing in the U.S. and Europe (invited guest lecture) 

European School of Economics, Florence, Italy 

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The Confusion Trap: Rethinking a Defense for Parody in Trademark Law 

Intellectual Property Scholars Roundtable 

Oxford Intellectual Property Discussion Group 

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An Empirical Analysis of Fair Use Decisions Under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution 

Policy

Intellectual Property Scholars Conference 

Culture, Creativity, & Copyright 

8th Annual Works in Progress Intellectual Property Conference

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Reasonable Perception and Parody in Copyright Law

Intellectual Property Scholars Roundtable

Teaching Without Infringement: A New Model for Educational Fair Use

7th Annual Works in Progress Intellectual Property Conference 

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In Search of (Maintaining) the Truth: The Use of Copyright Law by Religious Organizations

Intellectual Property Scholars Conference

Bar Admissions​

Illinois (2008)

District of Columbia (2009) (retired/inactive)

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Professional Associations

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American Bar Association

Chicago Bar Association

Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association

Lawyers for the Creative Arts

Publications

Trademark Law & Consumer Safety, 73 Florida Law Review __ (forthcoming 2020)

Patient Data Ownership (with Kathleen Liddell) (to be submitted 2020)

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Taxing the Poor Through Real Estate Transfers, 2020 Illinois Law Review Online 29

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Analogies in IP: Moral Rights,  21 Yale Journal of Law & Technology 337 (2019)

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Legal Realism Now?, 107 Kentucky Law Journal Online 1 (2019)

The Confusion Trap, 88 Washington Law Review 1021 (2013)

An Empirical Analysis of Fair Use Decisions Under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, 53 Boston College Law Review 65 (2012),

covered by Managing IP Magazine in two articles (including interview).

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Explaining the Supreme Court’s Shrinking Docket (with Ryan J. Owens), 53 William & Mary Law Review 1219 (2012)

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Culture, Creativity, & Copyright, 28 Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 279 (2011)

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Reasonable Perception and Parody in Copyright Law, 2010 Utah Law Review 779 (2010)

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In Search of (Maintaining) the Truth: The Use of Copyright Law by Religious Organizations, 16 Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review 355 (2010)

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Teaching Without Infringement: A New Model for Educational Fair Use, 20 Fordham Intellectual Property Media & Entertainment Law Journal 453 (2010)

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Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems: Should Appellate Courts Have Nonparty Jurisdiction Over Lawyers’ Appeals From Nonmonetary Sanctions?, 78 University of Cincinnati Law Review 183 (2009)

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Register Trademarks and Keep the Faith: Trademarks, Religion, and Identity, 49 IDEA 233 (2009), cited in

Sovereign Military Hospitaller v. Florida Priory of Knights Hospitallers, --- F. Supp. 2d ----, 2011 WL 4639824 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 29, 2011)

Appelant’s Brief in Seventh-Day Adventists v. McGill, No. 09-5723 (6th Cir. 2009)

Working Papers

Problems in Theory: Intellectual Property Law

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A Philosophy of Moral Rights? Personality, Identity, & the Self

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The Unimportance of the Author

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An Empirical Analysis of Cases Decided Under the Visual

Artists Rights Act: 1990 - Present

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Research Interests

Contracts

Intellectual Property 

Law & Philosophy

Torts

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SM