Biography

Paul Simon has devoted 20 years to the practice of law. At Pendergraft & Simon, he is responsible for the docket of complex and general commercial litigation and appellate matters, as well as property tax protest litigation.

Prior to joining Pendergraft & Simon Mr. Simon was the Managing Attorney at Voss Law Firm, P.C. Mr. Simon was responsible for overseeing junior attorneys’ docket, growth and development of the firm, while maintaining a full caseload of approximately 40 active cases, primarily in the nature of first-party insurance disputes and general commercial litigation.

Mr. Simon was also General Counsel and Vice President of a private real estate company, where he was responsible for overseeing the company’s legal department, including handling landlord/tenant disputes; lead trial counsel in breach-of-lease cases, tenant-filed lawsuits, property tax protest cases, disputes with vendors and lienholders; manage outside trial counsel and insurance claims; assist outside counsel in drafting appellate brief and mandamus; and review and draft transactional documents.

Mr. Simon was also a Partner at Simon, Herbert & McClelland, LLP. His practice focused primarily on commercial litigation and consumer protection cases, contract and business disputes, property-tax protest cases and actions brought by the State Attorney General. Mr. Simon was also responsible for all aspects of the Firm’s growth and development.

Over his career, Mr. Simon has been lead appellate counsel for a number of reported cases, including: Marullo v. Apollo Assoc. Servs., LLC, 515 S.W.3d 902 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, no pet.) (successfully enforced Washington state forum selection clause); Petroleum Workers Union of the Republic of Mex. v. Gomez, 503 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th] 2016, no pet.); General Metal Fabricating Corp. v. Stergiou, 438 S.W.3d 737 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2014, no pet.) (successfully enforced settlement agreement); Sterling Bank v. Willard M., LLC, 221 S.W.3d 121 (Tex. App. —Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, no pet.) (reversing and rendering trial court’s assessment of costs against client, where client was prevailing party at trial); In re Wells Fargo, 115 S.W.3d 600 (Tex. App—Houston [14th Dist.] 2003, orig, proceeding) (holding pre-dispute contractual jury waivers enforceable in sophisticated commercial transactions), as well as a number of unreported cases including: Trinh v. Elmi, 2015 WL 5634274 (Tex. App. —Houston [1st. Dist.] 2015, no pet.) (successfully reversed trial court judgment awarding no damages on finding appellee breached contract); Melawar v. Total Aircraft Servs., Inc., 2013 WL 485770 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2013, no pet.) (successfully defended trial court’s post-judgment award of $85,000 in attorney’s fees and sanctions in case awarding $1,700 in damages); Myers v. Keegan, 2011 WL 3848096 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2011, orig. proceeding.) (successfully defended trial court’s order finding medical malpractice expert’s qualified); Christus Health S.E. Tex. V. Keegan, 2011 WL 3206851 (Tex. App. —Beaumont 2011, orig. proceeding) (successfully defended trial court’s order finding medical malpractice expert’s qualified); In re General Metal Fabricating Corp., 2006 WL 3316877 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, orig. proceeding) (not design. for publ.) (successfully mandamused trial court in case involving settlement agreement).

As an Associate at Winstead P.C., a Litigation and Appellate Practice Group, Mr. Simon authored an appellate brief in a case of first impression in Texas.

Mr. Simon was also a briefing attorney under Senior Justice for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals.

Education

  • South Texas College of Law Houston, Houston, Texas
    • Juris Doctor – May 2000
    • Honors: scholastics: law review, assistant articles editor, 1999
    • Honors: Top 15%
    • Honors: Moot Court: Best Brief, Southeastern University National Invitational, 1999
    • Honors: Moot Court: Regional Finalist & 6th Best Speaker in Los Angeles Regional, Phillip Jessup International Moot Court Competition, 2000
    • Honors: Order of the Lytae
    • Honors: Order of the Barristers
    • Honors: Top Grades in Constitutional Law and International Law
    • Honors: Dean’s List (4 times)
  • University of Houston- Main Campus
    • Bachelor of Science – May 1997
    • Honors: cum laude
    • Honors: Received three of six “book awards” for top score on Constitutional Law I and Constitutional Law II
    • Honors: Dean’s List

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Member
  • Houston Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Member

Published Works

  • Paul Simon, Does the Sherman Act Recognize a “Price-Squeezing” Claim Where the Only Duty to Deal Arises from a Regulatory Scheme, 36 ABA Preview (of United States Supreme Court Cases), 3 (2008), at 158–63
  • Paul Simon & Beth Fain, Pre-Dispute Jury Waivers Now Enforceable in Texas, 18 The Appellate Advocate, Fall 2005, at 23
  • Jeff Joyce & Paul Simon, How Can an Owner Protect its Company from a Jury of its Peers?, 2004 Houston Business Journal 26 (§ 2, May 7–13)
  • Paul Simon, The Fourth Amendment’s Exclusionary Rule—Judicial Remedy or Constitutional Mandate: Is There Room for the “Good Faith” Exception?, 41 South Tex. L. Rev. 1101 (Summer 2000)

Fraternities or Sororities

  • Phi Delta Phi

Professional Associations

  • American Bar Association
  • Houston Bar Association

Practice Areas

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Civil Appeals
  • Property Tax Protest Litigation

Bar Admissions

  • Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas

Honors

  • Global Who’s Who Best Lawyers, 2016
  • Fellow, Houston Bar Association, Life Member
  • Order of the Barristers
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