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.
EDUCATION
Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center
Bachelor of Arts (Political Science), cum laude, University of Illinois
AWARDS & CERTIFICATIONS
2018-2022 - 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
