At 100, Broward County’s James Jay Simons isn’t slowing down
'I’ve been practicing since 1950, and I’ll keep practicing until I get it right'
Jay Simons gets set to begin a mediation session at his residence Thursday, December 8. Simons, a legendary Broward County personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, as well as a former judge, turned 100 December 19, but still continues to work part time as a mediator. Photo by Andy Newman.
Westin attorney J. Jay Simons is much more likely to spend his 100th birthday in a Zoom mediation than a porch swing.
“I love what I do, and I just can’t see myself sitting around in a rocking chair doing nothing,” he said.
The Boston native and former World War II aircraft mechanic will crossed the century mark December 19 as an active Florida Bar member, a status he has proudly maintained since the Truman Administration.
Ask the popular, court-appointed mediator about retirement, and he points to his temple.
“As long as this thing up here continues to function, I’m going to function,” he says.
Family and friends believe Simons could be the oldest practicing attorney in Florida, or at least the 17th Judicial Circuit, but that’s difficult to confirm. Nobody doubts that Simons is one of the most experienced, and one of the funniest.
“I’ve been practicing since 1950, and I’ll keep practicing until I get it right,” he quips.
Simons has no problem “getting it right,” assures Plantation lawyer John Stevens of Stevens & Goldwyn, P.A.
“He’s a great guy,” Stevens said. “Just shy of 100, he mediated a matter to conclusion for us just yesterday. He’s an amazing individual, quite frankly.”
Stevens, a 1998 Nova Southeastern Law graduate, was a young associate in his first law firm when Simons generously took him under his wing.
“He was always there, he would speak to us younger attorneys, help us with our cases,” Stevens says. “That was Jay, he always had a moment to talk to younger attorneys, he always had advice for anyone who asked.”
With his extensive knowledge of the law, and talent for relating to nonlawyers, Simons is an especially good fit for certain proceedings, Stevens said.
Stevens likes to use him for condominium and homeowner pre-suit mediations, where pro se defendants are offered an opportunity to mediate before a lawsuit is filed.
“Jay is one of the mediators I suggest for that because he deals very well with residents,” Stevens says. “He likes to tell jokes. He has lots of one-liners. He’s very personable. He really can explain it to them in a manner that they can understand.”
Simons has had to make some concessions to his age in recent years, Stevens acknowledges. Simons no longer drives, but performs in-person mediations when required. He prefers Zoom, Stevens says.
“He hasn’t slowed down mentally one bit. He knows what he’s talking about,” Stevens says.
Simons has an extensive wealth of experience to draw upon.
America was an emerging power the year Simons was born. The U.S. Navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Langley, and President Warren G. Harding installed the first radio in the White House.
After growing up in Depression-era Boston, Simons joined the Army Air Corps at 20. He spent World War II in Hawaii, where he worked on B-24 Liberators and Martin B-26 Marauders, heavy and medium bombers, respectively.
“I was in Hawaii right after Pearl Harbor,” Simons says. “I was trained as a mechanic.”
A lucky break spared him from participating in America’s deadly island-hopping campaign.
“My unit was sent off to the Pacific, but I was held back,” he said.
After the war, Simons joined his parents in Florida, where they were vacationing. By then, Simons was acclimated to sub-tropical breezes, and Boston lost its appeal. With the help of the G.I. Bill, Simons enrolled in the University of Miami School of Law, graduated, and become a first-generation lawyer.
“I was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1950 – I was the first,” Simons quips.
Simons wasn’t Florida’s first lawyer, but in pre “Where the Boys Are” Ft. Lauderdale, he was one of the few.
The 1950 U.S. Census put the Broward County population just north of 80,000. A Broward County Bar Association history lists 107 lawyers that year.
Getting a practice off the ground was challenging, Simons recalls. He took payment any way he could.
“It was difficult getting clients, but I had a barter system,” he says. “When I got married, I enjoyed doing legal opinions for food, and clothing, and jewelry. We got a lot of ice cream.”
A post-war boom nearly doubled Broward’s size overnight. In 1951 the population surged to 159,000. That year, the county boasted 276 lawyers, and four circuit judges, according to the Broward Bar.
“And then we got a real snowball coming down the hill, until we had an avalanche,” Simons says. “Believe me, it’s a lot more than when I started.”
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, after Simons took on a partner, “Jay Simons & Sheldon J. Schlessinger” was among the county’s top personal injury and medical malpractice firms, family members say. For nine years, in the late 60s and early 70s, Simons served as a municipal court judge in Hollywood and Cooper City.
“I loved every minute of it,” Simons says of his experience on the bench. “I loved helping people, it was a dream come true.”
His professional service includes stints as president of the Trial Lawyers Association and the Municipal Judges Association.
These days, Simons likes to relax by taking long drives with his wife of 69 years, Nancy, a Ft. Lauderdale native and the daughter of Abe and Mollie Newman, pioneering members of Broward’s Jewish community. Jay and Nancy had three children, Andrea, Daniel, and Joseph, eight grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
Simons was the first member of his family to become a lawyer, but he jokes that he started a trend.
“I was the first, but now we’ve got several,” he said. “A grandson who was a barrister in England, I’ve got a granddaughter who is at the top of her profession in Dallas, a daughter-in-law who graduated Nova, and a couple more that I don’t even know about.”
Many lawyers are concerned about declining professionalism, and it’s a trend Simons says he’s “noticed.” He isn’t thrilled about the explosion of lawyer advertising on billboards and TV, either.
“When I got to be a lawyer, there was a little black plaque in gold letters saying, ‘Jay Simons, Attorney,’ and the bar association insisted that was it,” he said. “In those days, you didn’t get as many people denigrating the profession.”
But unlike many of his “Greatest Generation” cohorts, Simons considers himself an optimist.
He says he’s watched the Florida legal profession gain more expertise and prominence since he was admitted to The Florida Bar 72 years ago.
“You’re talking apples and oranges,” he said. “There’s no way to compare. Now, we’re at the top of our profession legally, judicially, and probably politically, too.”
Stevens, the Plantation lawyer, says Simons reveres the profession, and always strives to uphold its highest standards.
“To be a good mediator, you have to be diplomatic, professional, knowledgeable, and he brings all of those qualities,” Stevens says. “I think more than just being dedicated to the profession he’s dedicated to professionalism.”
Stevens doesn’t see Simons retiring any time soon.
“He not only enjoys the profession, and keeping his mind sharp and focused, he also enjoys being around people,” Stevens says. “I think mediation is a perfect profession for him.”
