Omari Scott Simmons

Omari Scott Simmons is a leading expert in corporate governance and higher education, whose impactful work is utilized by scholars, courts, policymakers, and practitioners. His research is published in top journals and has been cited by federal and state courts. Professor Simmons comments on corporate governance and higher education matters for various media outlets. His research examines emerging corporate governance challenges, including political risk, as well as the evolving roles of corporate directors, intermediaries, and business courts. His recent work explores the intersection of civil rights and corporate governance.

Before joining the George Washington University Law School faculty, Professor Simmons was a faculty member at Wake Forest University School of Law, where he served as University Chair, the Howard L. Oleck Professor of Business Law, and founding director of the business law program. Before entering academia, Professor Simmons worked as corporate counsel for two multinational corporations and practiced at the law firm of WilmerHale in Washington, DC. Immediately after law school, he clerked for the Honorable E. Norman Veasey, Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. 

Professor Simmons is an elected member of the American Law Institute. He is also the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Simmons Memorial Foundation (SMF), an award-winning nonprofit organization that provides a range of college access-related services to students. An organizational case study of SMF is captured in his book Potential on the Periphery: College Access from the Ground Up (Rutgers Univ. Press).

Professor Simmons received his undergraduate education at Wake Forest University; his Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School; and a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge. At the University of Pennsylvania, he received the Thouron Award and the Fontaine Fellowship. Professor Simmons has received multiple honors for his efforts in promoting higher education opportunities.

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