Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2006 
Practice Areas: Litigation and Controversy - Tax
A. Lavar Taylor is a tax attorney in Irvine, California, with 30 years of experience handling civil andcriminal tax controversies. He represents individuals, businesses, and other parties in tax litigation before the U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Claims, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Taylor also handles administrative tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service, including audits, collection matters, criminal investigations, administrative hearings before the Office of Appeals, and Collection Due Process appeals.
Before entering private practice in 1989, Mr. Taylor served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California 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 tax matters, and complex collection matters for the IRS. From 1981 to 1984, he was an attorney with the General Litigation Division of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in Washington, D.C., handling collection, bankruptcy, and summons matters.
Mr. Taylor represents clients in federal and state tax disputes and serves as a witness in litigation between private parties when tax issues arise. He also serves as Tax Counsel to the firm of Shulman, Hodges & Bastian.
Reported Cases
Court of Appeals: 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: Parchan v. United States, 2011-1 U.S.T.C. 50,326 (C.D. Cal. 2011), appeal pending (9th Cir.); 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: 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).
Publications
Mr. Taylor has authored articles and legislative and administrative proposals concerning tax procedure, including proposals addressing Innocent Spouse laws and Collection Due Process appeals. Several concepts included in his proposals were later enacted into law, including the expansion of the Tax Court’s jurisdiction in Collection Due Process cases, changes to the Tax Court’s jurisdiction in Innocent Spouse cases, and an increase in the damages available when the IRS violates the law while seeking to collect taxes.
Teaching Experience
Since 2004, Mr. Taylor has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in Orange, California, where he teaches Federal Tax Procedure and directs the Appellate Tax Clinic. The clinic allows J.D. and LL.M. candidates to assist with the preparation of amicus curiae briefs filed in tax-related cases before courts throughout the United States. These briefs are filed by the Center for the Fair Administration of Taxes, a nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and even-handed administration of the tax laws. Mr. Taylor previously served as an Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University.
Mr. Taylor is active in the Tax Section of the State Bar of California. He has served as Chair of both the Procedure and Litigation Committee and the Bankruptcy Tax Committee of the California State Bar’s Tax Section. He is also a member of the American Bar Association Tax Section, the Tax Section and Commercial Law and Bankruptcy sections of the Orange County Bar Association, and the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum.
Mr. Taylor regularly speaks at programs sponsored by the Tax Section of the California State Bar and at other tax programs, including the UCLA Tax Controversy Institute, the USC Tax Institute, and the Cal Poly Pomona Tax Institute. He also speaks to groups of Certified Public Accountants and Enrolled Agents.
Mr. Taylor practices with Taylor Nelson Amitrano LLP in Irvine, California.
