Judson Hawk Simmons

Judson (or “Jud”) Simmons is a seasoned attorney who serves as Counsel to the Corporate Section of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP(“SGR”).

He has a broad based international, corporate and commercial finance practice, representing U.S. and foreign clients in connection with domestic, overseas, and cross-border business transactions. His areas of experience include the following: diverse types of domestic and international commercial and financing transactions (including aircraft finance, conventional commercial loans, leveraged leases of equipment, securitizations, off-shore structured finance, swaps and other derivatives transactions, and various other types of commercial financing), as well as workouts of non-performing loans and the restructuring of distressed companies); international trade (including export and import compliance; letters of credit, Eximbank guarantees, and other types of export and import financing); government contracting; intellectual property matters; corporate finance matters (including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital/private equity, mezzanine finance, public offerings, and American depository receipts); and various general corporate and contractual matters. Mr. Simmons has extensive experience on both sides of financing transactions having represented a variety of financial institutions, investment bankers, venture capitalist, and private equity funds, as well as companies either seeking debt or equity financing or seeking to refinance or reorganize their outstanding indebtedness. His practice has involved transactions throughout the United States and in more than 30 countries around the world.

Mr. Simmons earned his BS degree, with Special Attainments in Commerce, from Washington & Lee University, where he served as Secretary of the Student Body and was elected to Who’s Who Among Students of American Colleges and Universities. He also spent a year abroad at the University of Nottingham, England, studying Economics, where he received a Certificate of High Honours from his tutor, Dr. Brian Tew. Mr. Simmons earned his JD degree, cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was the Executive Editor of the Georgia Law Review. After law school, he clerked for The Honorable David W. Dyer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Judicial Circuit in Miami, Florida. Later, Mr. Simmons joined the Law School Faculty of Columbia University in New York, New York, as an Associate-in-Law. While teaching at Columbia, he was an JSD Candidate (studying in the areas of international transactions and equipment financing, legal education, and jurisprudence). Mr. Simmons earned both a Certificate in Foreign and Comparative Law from Columbia University’s Parker School and also an LLM. degree from Columbia University School of Law.

Mr. Simmons has represented manufacturers in a variety of industries, ranging from manufacturers of consumer products (including sporting goods, textiles and apparel, candles, and beverages) to original equipment manufacturers of highly engineered avionics, communications equipment, controls, and other specialty equipment, as well as companies in the heavy industrial sector (including refineries, power plants, chemical plants, pulp and paper plants, and foundries). He also has worked with wholesalers, retailers, and service providers in the following industries: aviation, communications and broadband media, internet based services, pharmaceuticals, publishing, freight transportation, and hospitality. In addition, he has extensive experience working with clients in the healthcare field, particularly rural, community hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and providers of ancillary healthcare services.

Mr. Simmons previously served as an adjunct professor of International Business Transactions at Emory University School of Law. He has authored a number of papers on various aspects of international business activities. He also has been a frequent guest lecturer concerning international business topics at numerous continuing legal education seminars.

For a number of clients, Mr. Simmons has effectively served as outside general counsel, overseeing all of their legal needs including tax issues, diverse types of litigation, real estate matters, executive compensation, ERISA, labor relations, non-discrimination employment law violations, and other human resources matters. Prior to joining SGR, Mr. Simmons served as the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of a public company in the long-term care industry, where he oversaw the negotiations for the acquisition or development and construction of 48 long-term care facilities and their related financing.