Joseph Simms
Joe is the Chair of Reminger’s Broker-Dealer and Investment Advisor Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Practice Group, and a senior member of the Financial Services, Securities Litigation, Commercial Litigation and Estates, Trusts and Probate Litigation groups. In his nationwide practice, Joe represents public and private companies and individuals in the financial services, banking, brokerage, insurance, real estate, manufacturing, and construction industries in a wide array of cases involving breach of contract and fraud claims, issues relating to claims of unfair competition and trade secrets violations, and general tort litigation.
His primary focus is complex securities litigation and arbitration, financial institution litigation, compliance consulting, regulatory investigations and inquiries, and broker-dealer liability defense, in which he represents broker-dealers, investment advisors, banks, and insurance companies and their licensed and registered personnel in claims involving allegations of professional misconduct. His background in business litigation and representing financial services providers also translates well into his experience in matters of estate and trust litigation.
With more than two decades of legal experience, Joe has earned a reputation throughout the state of Ohio and nationally as a litigator specializing in complex business disputes, commercial litigation, and alternative dispute resolution. He has been named repeatedly to the Ohio Super Lawyers list, a designation reserved for only 5% of Ohio lawyers, and has achieved Martindale-Hubbell's highest ranking, AV Preeminent®. According to feedback obtained during the rating process, Joe was described as an attorney who “excels at determining a strategy that is cost-effective for the client and then expertly executing that strategy through top-notch work product and advocacy,” and he was recognized as an “excellent lawyer with a wide range of experience and knowledge” who is “among the top defense counsel in the broker-dealer bar.”
Joe is the immediate past Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Litigation Section and presently serves as the Chair of the Securities Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section. He also currently serves as a member of the Judicial Selection Committee of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, is on the executive committees of the ADR Sections of the Ohio State Bar Association and Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, and serves on the Board of Directors of LifeAct of Northeast Ohio as a member of its Governance and Advocacy committees. He also writes and speaks frequently throughout Ohio and nationwide on topics of interest to litigators and financial services professionals, and has been an active member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys (OACTA) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).