A. Lavar Taylor

Managing Partner

(714) 546-0445 x120 eFax: (949) 474-1058

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A. Lavar Taylor - Managing Partner at The Law Offices of A. Lavar Taylor

Education

Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center
Bachelor of Arts (Political Science), cum laude, University of Illinois

Awards & Certifications

2018-2023 - Super Lawyers
2019 - Voted into “The Best Lawyers in America®” (since 2006)
2019- AV Rated with Martindale-Hubbell since 2010
2018 - Hon. Peter M. Elliott Award Recipient
2018 - Inducted into the American College of Tax Counsel
2015 - Coast Magazine Orange County Top Attorneys List
2013 - Joanne Garvey Award Recipient
2011 - “Lawyer of the Year,” Orange County, California, Best Lawyers
2004 - V. Judson Klein Award Recipient
Included on The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100

Overview

A. Lavar Taylor is the founder of Taylor Nelson Amitrano LLP and has over 43 years of experience in handling civil and criminal tax controversies involving the IRS and state tax agencies. Lavar handles litigation in all trial and appellate courts, including Tax Court, District Court, Court of Federal Claims, Bankruptcy Court, the federal Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He also handles disputes before the California Office of Tax Appeals and the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Lavar also handles administrative disputes with the IRS and state tax agencies including audits, collection matters, criminal investigations, and administrative hearings with the IRS Office of Appeals, including Collection Due Process Appeals. Lavar is also widely recognized for his expertise and success in handling tax matters related to bankruptcy and insolvency. he serves as Tax Counsel to the firm Shulman Bastian Friedman & Bui, LLP.

Lavar prides himself on coming up with creative, cost-effective approaches to dealing with tax disputes. Lavar has also served as a testifying expert witness in matters relating to taxes and tax procedure.

Prior to entering private practice, Lavar served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California Tax Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1987 to 1989. From 1984 to 1987, he was a Senior Trial Attorney with the Laguna Niguel IRS District Counsel’s Office, where he handled Tax Court cases, criminal matters and complex collection, and bankruptcy matters for the IRS. From 1981 to 1984, Lavar was an Attorney with General Litigation Division of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in Washington, D.C.

For over 20 years, Lavar has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California, where he teaches Federal Tax Procedure. Lavar has also served on the Adjunct Faculty in the Tax Program at the Law School of the University of California, Irvine.

Lavar is committed to giving back to the tax community. He is involved with both the Tax Section of the American Bar Association and the Tax Section of the California Lawyers’ Association, where he has served as Chair of both the Tax Procedure and Litigation Committee and the Bankruptcy Tax Committee. He regularly speaks at continuing education programs for tax professionals and attorneys, and he is a strong financial supporter of the Tax LLM Program at the Law School of the University of California, Irvine. He also acts as a mentor to students and speaks at programs for recent law school graduates sponsored by the Orange County Bar Association.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

Panelist on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, American Bankruptcy Institute’s 2019 Bankruptcy Battleground West Event, 2019.
Presenter at the Orange County Bar Association Bridging the Gap Program, 2019.
Panelist, “With All Deference: What Standard should a Court Apply to Tax Regulations,” 2018 ABA 35th National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and 8th Annual National Institute on Tax Controversy, 2018.
Panelist, “Protecting Your Client Against the Issuance of a Summons and Summons Enforcement,” USD School of Law- RJS Law Tax Controversy Institute, 2018.
Panelist, “The New Wave of IRS Fraud Referrals- Fact or Fiction,” UCLA Tax Controversy Institute, 2018.
“Whether alleged alter egos, successors in interest and nominees of taxpayers have rights under the Collection Due Process Procedures” (5 part series), www.procedurallytaxing.com, 2018.
Speaker, “Litigation Tax Issues in Bankruptcy, Possibilities and Pitfalls,” American Bar Association, 2018.
Panelist, “Non-Traditional Issues Associated with the New Partnership Audit Rules a.k.a. ‘Don’t Let Your Child Grow Up to Be a Partnership Representative,’” USC Gould School of Law 2018 Tax Institute, 2018.
Presenter, “How to Handle IRS Summons,” CalCPA Education Foundation Beverly Hills Discussion Group, 2018.
Presenter, “Discharging Taxes in Bankruptcy and Litigating Tax Issues in Bankruptcy Court,” King Bankruptcy Academy Seminar, 2018.
Panelist, “Capturing the Small Captive Insurance Company,” UCLA Tax Controversy Institute, 2017.
Panelist, “Offshore Accounts and Compliance- Where are we Today? State Filing Requirement and Considerations when filing OVDP,” 13th Annual USD-Procopio International Tax Institute, 2017.
Speaker, “Community Property Law Tax Issues,” RJS Law-USD School of Law Tax Institute, 2017.
Presenter, “Federal Civil Procedures,” Orange County Association of Legal Administrators, 2017.
Panelist, “Litigating the ‘Merits” of a Tax Liability in Collection Due Process Cases under the Internal Revenue Code Sections 6320 and 6330 and What are the ‘Merits’ of a Tax Liability and When can you Raise them in a CDP Case,” 2017 American Bar Association Tax Section Meeting, 2017.
Panelist, Civil Tax Workshop, 334d Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and the Sixth Annual Institute Tax Controversy, 2016.
Panelist, “Resolving Tax Disputes in the Bankruptcy Forum,” USD School of Law- RJS Law Tax Controversy Institute, 2016.
“Court Jurisdiction: It’s not Just for Law Professors,” CCH Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure, 2015.

Reported Cases

Court of Appeals: Our Country Home Enters. v. Comm'r, 855 F.3d 773 (7th Cir. 2017), Hawkins v. The Franchise Tax Board of California, 769 F.3d 662 (9th Cir.2014)(as amicus curiae), Meruelo v. Commissioner, 691 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 2012), Gorospe v. United States, 451 F.3d 966 (9th Cir. 2007), Ronald Moran Cadillac v. United States, 385 F.3d 1230 (9th Cir. 2004), Liti v. Commissioner, 289 F.3d 1103 (9th Cir. 2002),Vendor Surveillance Corp. v. United States, 97-2 U.S.T.C. 50,527 (9th Cir. 1997), Taffi v. United States (In re Taffi), 96 F.3d 1190 (9th Cir. 1996) (en banc), affirming 68 F.3d 306 (9th Cir. 1995), Miller v. United States, 66 F.3d 220 (9th Cir. 1995).

District Court: United States v. Lin, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182900 (C.D. Cal. 2014), Parchan v. United States, 2011-1 U.S.T.C. 50,326 (C.D. Cal. 2011), United States v. Novelli, 381 F. Supp.2d 1125 (C.D. Cal. 2005), Muffet Medlock v. United States, 325 F. Supp. 2d 1064 (C.D. Cal. 2003), United States v. Klein (In re Klein), 189 B.R. 505 (C.D. Cal. 1995).

Bankruptcy Court: In re USA Sales, Inc., 580 B.R. 852 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2018), Orange County District Attorney v. Powerplant Maintenance Specialists, Inc., unreported opinion, (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2008), Robinson, Diamant, Brill & Klausner v. Pacetti (In re Pacetti), 79 A.F.T.R. 2d 2619 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1996), Znider v. United States (In re Znider), 150 B.R. 239 (Bankr C.D. Cal. 1993).

U.S. Tax Court: Pac. Mgmt. Grp. v. Comm'r, T.C. Memo 2018-131, Nebeker v. Commissioner of I.R.S., T.C. Memo 2016-155 (Aug. 16, 2016), SECC Corporation v. Commissioner, 142 T.C. 225 (2014), Tucker v. Commissioner, 135 T.C. 114 (2010) (as amicus curiae), Meruelo v. Commissioner, 132 T.C. 135 (2009), Estate of Paul Rule, Deceased, Betty Rule, Successor Administrator v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. M. 674 (2009).