Tom B. Taylor
Partner

Thomas B. Taylor is a trial lawyer with extensive litigation experience emphasizing the defense of cases involving products liability and toxic torts.

Mr. Taylor is a native Houstonian. He attended Texas Tech University, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Industrial Management in 1971.

After graduation from Texas Tech University, he joined Norwood Chemical Company in Houston, Texas, marketing industrial chemicals and solvents before entering South Texas College of Law. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1974. While in law school, he served as a special prosecutor for the Student Honor Code and was an Honor Code Justice. He was a member of Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity. After graduation, he joined the Houston law firm of Briscoe & Shaffer as an associate.

In 1975, Mr. Taylor took a leave of absence from Briscoe & Shaffer to serve as a member of the Frank Briscoe for Mayor of the City of Houston Campaign Steering Committee. In 1977, Mr. Taylor served as Campaign Manager to the Frank Briscoe for Mayor Campaign. Thereafter, the firm changed its name to Briscoe, Powell & Taylor and Mr. Taylor remained until 1984, when he and Mr. William Eggleston formed Taylor & Eggleston, P.C.

In 1999, Mr. Taylor and Mr. John Warren founded Taylor & Warren, L.L.P.

Mr. Taylor has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston-Downtown, teaching in the areas of real property and premises liability. He is the co-author of Texas Supplement for Real Estate Principals and Practices, Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, Columbus, Ohio, 1977.

Mr. Taylor also authored the book review for the Houston Bar Journal of Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall Law & Business, 1990.

As a former member of the faculty of the Texas Municipal Courts Training Center, Mr. Taylor taught pre-trial and trial procedure and evidence to Texas Municipal Court Judges.

In 2005, Mr. Taylor lectured for Harris-Martin and the University of Houston Continuing Legal Education courses on the topics of deposition procedures and how to take toxic tort depositions.

As a former member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Mr. Taylor was a boating safety instructor.

He has served as a general counsel for the Harris County Community Development Agency and the Harris County Housing Authority. He has represented the counties of Montgomery and San Jacinto, as well as various municipalities and elected and appointed public officials in the defense of Federal Civil Rights claims.

From 1985 to 1995, Mr. Taylor was Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Up until approximately 1990, Mr. Taylor's law practice included criminal defense trials and appeals. Mr. Taylor gained trial experience successfully trying and winning numerous criminal cases including murder cases.

From 1977 to 1984, he was a Senior Partner with the Houston firm of Briscoe, Powell & Taylor. From 1984 to 1999, he served as Senior and Managing Partner of Taylor & Eggleston, P.C.

Mr. Taylor served as Assistant City Attorney and Prosecutor for the Municipal Court of the City of West University Place, Texas from 1978 to 1982.In 1982, he was appointed to serve as Associate Justice, and in 1990 he was appointed Presiding Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of West University Place, Texas, a position he held until retiring from the bench in December of 2004. As a prosecutor, he prepared for and tried hundreds of cases. >From 1982until his retirement as a judge in 2004, Mr. Taylor presided over thousands of trials.

Mr. Taylor and Mr. Warren are National Coordinating Counsel for Oglebay Norton Industrial Sands, Inc.'s silica litigation.

He is licensed by the Supreme Court of the State of Texas and admitted to practice before the Courts of the United States District Court for the Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, the Texas Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute.

Mr. Taylor serves on the Texas Silicosis Defense Steering Committee and the Texas State Silica Multi-District Litigation Panel Defense Steering Committee.

Mr. Taylor has added a mediation practice to the firm's practice diversity.

Mr. Taylor was named to "Who's Who of Practicing Attorneys" in 1991.

Mr. Taylor is "AV"rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

E-mail: taylort@taylorwarren.com