A. Lavar Taylor received his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., graduating Magna cum laude in 1981. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois in Champaign – Urbana, Illinois in 1978, graduating a member of Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude with Departmental Distinction.
Prior to entering private practice in 1989, Mr. Taylor was an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the Tax Division of the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, California, where he handled a wide variety of federal tax litigation before federal and state courts. From 1984 through 1987, Mr. Taylor was a trial attorney with IRS District Counsel in Laguna Niguel, California, where he handled Tax Court litigation, criminal tax matters, as well as complex bankruptcy and collection matters. From 1981 through 1984, Mr. Taylor was an attorney with the General Litigation Division of the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Taylor specializes in handling "tax controversies" of every conceivable type at all administrative and judicial levels. He also advises clients regarding the "tax aspects" of bankruptcy and insolvency. His clients include corporate and individual taxpayers, bankruptcy debtors, shareholders and officers of corporate bankruptcy debtors, bankruptcy trustees, and creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. Mr. Taylor is tax counsel to the law firm of Shulman, Hodges & Bastian LLP.
In 2004 Mr. Taylor was the recipient of the the V. Judson Klein Award from the Tax Section of the the California State Bar. This award is given annually to a California tax attorney who exemplifies the qualities of the late V. Judson Klein namely a high level of legal professionalism and zest for life. Since 2006 Mr. Taylor has been selected by his peers to be included in the Best Attorneys in America in the specialty of tax law. Mr. Taylor is a past chair of the Committee on Litigation and Procedure of the Tax Section of the California State Bar and was the inaugural chair of the Tax Section’s Bankruptcy Tax Committee. He has previously served as the head of the Orange County Bar Association’s Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section and has served on that Section’s Board of Directors. He is a member of the Tax Section of American Bar Association and that section’s Administrative Practice Committee. He is also a member of Orange County Bankruptcy Forum and has served on that organization’s Special Projects Committee.
Mr. Taylor is an adjunct professor at Chapman Law School where he teaches Federal Tax Procedure and Tax Research for LLM students. He was an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University from 1994 to 2001. He is also a frequent lecturer outside the classroom on bankruptcy tax issues and tax procedure matters. Mr. Taylor has co-authored federal legislative proposals, including proposed revisions to the statutory provisions governing both the Collection Due Process Appeals and Innocent Spouse claims.
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