Meet the Attorneys
Dan Simon
Daniel S. "Dan" Simon is the founding shareholder of Simon, Diaz & Ellis. Mr. Simon graduated from Washburn University with his degree of Juris Doctorate in 1996 and is admitted in the Missouri and Kansas Bar Associations.
During law school, Mr. Simon was a member and officer of the Phi Delta Phi legal honor fraternity. Mr. Simon is a 1999 graduate of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Columbia class. He co-chaired the Attorney Section of the Professional Division of the 1998 and 1999 Columbia, Missouri area United Way Fund Raising Campaigns, and Mr. Simon has been Financial Reviewer on the Columbia United Way's Allocation Panel each year since 2000. He is a former member of the Rotary Club of Columbia, Missouri.
Mr. Simon practices primarily in the areas of business law, real estate law, corporations, contracts, criminal defense, and family law.
Karla Klingner Diaz
Having experience on Capitol Hill and in the courtroom, Ms. Diaz is able to serve clients from a diversified policy and legal perspective. During her time on Capitol Hill she developed first-hand familiarity with Congress and the legislative process as well as worked closely with administrative agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, and Army Corps of Engineers. As a general practice litigator, she tried numerous contested cases and prepared for bench and jury trials in a large number of other actions that resulted in settlement through extensive negotiation, mediation and plea bargaining.
Bill Ellis
Bill Ellis is a lifelong resident of central Missouri, having graduated from Hickman High School and the University of Missouri. While attending the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, Bill served as Note & Comment Editor for the Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review and was selected for membership into the Order of Barristers.
Following his graduation from law school in 2001, Bill worked in the law department of a mid-sized insurance company. He later served as Legal Counsel for the Missouri Department of Revenue, where he worked with Missouri’s motor vehicle and driver license laws and developed a practice area in the defense of driving while intoxicated and other traffic-related charges. Before joining Simon, Diaz & Ellis, Bill spent more than four years in private practice at a firm focused in the litigation of casualty and injury or death claims.
Bill has proved to be a reliable advocate for his clients, zealously representing them both inside and out of the courtroom. He has prevailed at trial and on Motions for Summary Judgment, and has deposed dozens of plaintiffs, defendants and lay and expert witnesses. When appropriate, Bill has used his negotiation and mediation skills to reach agreements that allow his clients to avoid the time, expense, stress or other harsh consequences of civil or criminal litigation.
Bill focuses his practice primarily in the areas of criminal and traffic defense, casualty and injury or death or other tort litigation, contract and lease disputes, motor vehicle law and juvenile law.
Sander Sowers
Sander Sowers joined Simon, Diaz & Ellis as an Associate Attorney in January 2007. Mr. Sowers attended law school at Saint Louis University where he received his Juris Doctor in 2005. While at Saint Louis University School of Law, Mr. Sowers was a member of the Saint Louis University Law Journal, a 1L mentor, and externed with U.S. District Court Chief Judge Carol Jackson and Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Mr. Sowers graduated magna cum laude from University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics in 2002. While at Mizzou, he was involved in the Phi Eta Sigma honors society and the Ag Econ club.
Prior to joining Simon, Diaz & Ellis, Mr. Sowers was in private practice in Rolla, Missouri.
Currently, he is involved in the Boone County Bar Association, the Boone County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, and the Columbia Chapter of Rotaract.
Mr. Sowers practices primarily in the areas of business law, real estate law, corporations, contracts, criminal defense, and personal injury.