With family roots deeply embedded in agriculture and a desire to pursue a legal career “at the intersection of water, environmental and agricultural law,” Jessica Friley is the first recipient of the Paul S. Simmons Legacy Scholarship. The McGeorge School of Law student and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, graduate applied for the award with stellar credentials. In addition to a high grade-point-average, she has a concentration in water and environmental law, experience chairing the 2026 Water Law Symposium, and a research fellowship with the National Agricultural Law Center. She’s also done stints as a legal clerk with the California Farm Bureau Federation and will be serving as the President of the Water Law Society.

Somach Simmons & Dunn established the recurring Paul S. Simmons Legacy Scholarship in 2026 with the desire to recognize a rising third-year day or fourth-year evening division student enrolled at UC Davis or McGeorge Law School with a demonstrated a commitment to water resources and environmental advocacy in the agriculture arena.

“I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Simmons after receiving the scholarship. He was incredibly kind, humble, and welcoming. It was easy to understand why he is so highly respected within the water law community, and I feel honored to have received a scholarship in his name,” Friley said.

Paul Simmons is a Somach Simmons & Dunn founder who retired from the practice of law in 2025 after a long and successful career in the fields of water and environmental law that not only earned him a national reputation as a lawyer, but the admiration of his law partners, clients and the Western water law community. Simmons, along with Somach Simmons & Dunn Managing Shareholder Theresa Barfield, were on hand last week to meet Friley and personally congratulate her.

The scholarship was awarded with the help of a committee of firm lawyers that included Aaron Ferguson, Max Bricker, Yosef Negose, Lindsey Ratcliff and Dani Fatta.

(Appearing in photo above, left to right: Negose, Barfield, Simmons, Friley, Ferguson, Fatta)

Somach Simmons & Dunn is a midsize environmental and water law firm, with offices in California, Colorado, and the District of Columbia. The firm’s attorneys represent public and private sector clients across a range of water, air, and land disciplines, including litigation, transactional, and public policy matters.