Born in Detroit, Michigan, Simons received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Michigan in 1898 and a second Bachelor of Laws from the University of Michigan Law School in 1900. He was in private practice in Detroit from 1900 to 1923, also serving as a member of the Michigan Senate from 1903 to 1904, a Circuit Court commissioner for Wayne County, Michigan from 1905 to 1906, and a member of the Michigan Constitutional Convention in 1908.
