Mr. Douglas Simmons’s father was a career Army officer, so he spent most of his childhood traveling coast to coast, attending numerous schools. When his father retired, the family returned to Louisiana, where Major Simmons was originally from. Douglas graduated from Leesville High School, just outside of Fort Polk Louisiana, his 13th school in 12 years.

He graduated from Mississippi College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a Major in Accounting. While there, he played intercollegiate football, and was admitted into Alpha Chi and ODK. Douglas also spent 10 years in the USMC Reserves.

He returned to Louisiana to attend the LSU Law School, where he graduated in 1983. After graduation, he worked for Martin and Taulbee, a Louisiana law firm that specialized in insurance defense trial work. His next employment was with the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office, where he spent several years prosecuting both misdemeanors and felonies. He left to establish a general private practice, which he operated until he relocated to Charlotte, NC in 1989.

Initially in Charlotte, he worked for Bailey Patterson, Caddell, Hart and Bailey, a Charlotte firm that specialized in personal injury and workers compensation. He then went back into private practice, with the majority of his work being real-estate related. However, as the firm grew, he was able to diversify into other areas, including criminal, family law, debt collection, credit repair and miscellaneous other areas.