Writing & Publications
David Simon’s writing focuses on two related questions: how organizations build the capacity to make sound decisions in times of crisis, and how legal counsel is most effectively deployed within those organizations. He also writes and speaks on the business of law and on the management of professional services firms.
The first area of focus draws on three decades of advising boards and senior executives through governance, regulatory, and reputational challenges. The second is rooted in his MBA studies and reflects a long-standing interest in the relationship between law and business and the role of lawyers as strategic advisors within complex institutions.
Governance, Ethics, and Organizational Decision-Making
Directorship, National Association of Corporate Directors, Fall 2025
Builds on earlier work by arguing that ethical leadership must be paired with institutional infrastructure. Focuses on incentive alignment, independent oversight, messaging, speak-up culture, and emerging forms of AI-enabled monitoring, with particular attention to board-level design and oversight.
Directorship, National Association of Corporate Directors, Summer 2024
Examines the distinction between ethical leadership and the projection of ethics throughout an organization, and argues that most cultural failures arise from the latter rather than the former. Draws on behavioral psychology to explain why ethical leaders may nonetheless preside over unethical outcomes.
Board Oversight of Compliance, Regulatory Investigations, and Enforcement Actions
Chapter, PLI Audit Committee Deskbook, 2026
Examines the board’s role in overseeing compliance and enforcement risk, with a focus on governance design, regulatory scrutiny, investigations, and institutional accountability in high-risk environments.
Foley.com, October 2022
Explores differing American and European perspectives on ESG, corporate purpose, and stakeholder accountability, and the implications for governance and corporate decision-making.
Law and Business: Lawyer as Strategic Advisor
How legal counsel is deployed within organizations, and what it would mean to train and use lawyers as strategic partners rather than technical specialists.
Co-author (with Knox McIlwain and Shiv Haria-Shah), Financial Times Agenda, August 2025
Argues that the gap between legal advisors and business leaders is structural rather than personal, rooted in differences in training and incentives. Offers a framework for how executives can deploy legal counsel more effectively within decision-making processes.
Co-author (with Prof. John Burrows), Wisconsin Lawyer, January 2024
Practical guidance for lawyers on preparation, persuasion, and negotiation strategy, informed by contemporary social science and modern business thinking. Recognized among 2024 Articles Deserving Special Commendation.
GenAI’s Effects on Lawyer Formation and the Future of the Legal Profession
Co-author (with William Hubbard), forthcoming (2026)
The Legal Industry as a Business
The law firm as an institution under pressure – its economics, governance, and the structural challenges posed by technology and evolving client expectations.
Forthcoming, SSRN
Examines the uneven performance of GenAI in legal work and argues that existing law firm governance frameworks fail to account for its varying effects across different forms of professional judgment. Proposes a framework that shifts analysis from legal deliverables to the cognitive functions being performed.
GenAI’s Effects on Lawyer Formation and the Future of the Legal Profession
Co-author (with William Hubbard), forthcoming (2026)