Ms. Simonds has a broad restructuring practice, with a focus on shepherding distressed companies through Chapter 11 proceedings and out-of-court workouts. Her practice also includes representation of non-debtor parties in bankruptcy proceedings, including lenders, bondholders, municipal bond insurers, landlords, vendors, and purchasers. Ms. Simonds has represented clients in the entertainment, technology, financial services, private equity, oil and gas, automotive, alternative energy, food and beverage, and hospitality industries, among others.
Ms. Simonds received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, where she was the recipient of the Dean’s Merit Scholarship. During law school, Ms. Simonds served as a Managing Editor of the UCLA Law Review and Co-Chief Articles Editor of the Women’s Law Journal and externed for The Honorable Christina A. Snyder at the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Ms. Simonds serves on the Board of Trustees for the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and is Co-Chair of the Jewish Center for Justice Lawyers Committee.
Ms. Simonds is admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and the United States District Courts for the Central and Northern Districts of California. With more than ten years of experience representing restructuring clients in these courts and others throughout the country, Ms. Simonds’s pro bono practice has also included an argument before the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and briefing to the Ninth and Eleventh Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.