PRACTICE EXPERIENCE

J.W. Taylor is a business law and commercial litigation attorney specializing in the transportation and logistics industry. He founded Taylor Nelson, f/k/a Taylor & Associates, a national full-service transportation law firm, in 2011. Since the firm’s inception, J.W. and his highly talented team have opened a second office in Tampa Bay as well as a satellite office in Miami. Under J.W.’s leadership, Taylor Nelson is devoted to meeting a wide array of client needs within the transportation and logistics industry.  He represents clients in matters of claims litigation including personal injury litigation and ADR, cargo claims, and contract disputes. In addition to litigation, J.W. is skilled in corporate restructuring and regulatory compliance matters such as insurance design, equipment financing, and risk management.

He is keyed into the reality that insurance drives much of the transportation industry, both in business practices, and in liability assignment based on regulatory requirements.  As such, over decades, J.W. has built up a strong host of relationships with the insurance industry and is a consistent speaker and contributor at MCIEF. He has developed a winning strategy in assisting insurance agents in communicating risk management for specific clients to potential underwriters. In the business side of transportation industry, leaders turn to J.W. to provide insurance insights and shed light on coverage developments. On the insurance side, insurers turn to J.W. to assist them with writing policies and contracts that align with industry realities and to help interpret regulatory language in a way that it makes underwriting brokers and motor carriers both solid and profitable. J.W.’s strong background in transportation insurance issues have afforded him the ability to be a voice of influence in the emerging industry of autonomous vehicles.

J.W. Taylor served a full term on the Board of Directors of the Florida Trucking Association from 2019-2022. While serving as a Board member, he zealously represented the interests of the trucking industry in Florida to both state and federal regulatory bodies. He assisted in lobbying for tort reform and for the ongoing efforts for inclusion of protectionary language regarding independent contractor classification for truckers. Additionally, he serves as advisor to the FTA regarding the current volatile legal landscape. JW remains very active with the FTA serving on the industry critical Public Policy Committee, as well as the Membership Recruitment Committee.

J.W. Taylor has earned himself a place of respect, both in winning difficult mediation and court battles concerning catastrophic claims, but—maybe more importantly—structuring companies in such a way as to keep them out of the courtroom in the first place.  When people in the transportation industry reference the most distributed and referenced “sample” contracts, they can often be traced back to J.W. Taylor originals.  This specifically includes the most widely referenced and replicated Independent Contractor Driver agreement used in Motor Carrier operations. J.W.’s reputation for structuring companies in such a way and supplying contracts that minimize exposure as much as possible, given industry business realities, has earned him the respect in the insurance industry that results in a large amount of his new clients being insurance agent referrals.  They trust J.W. to set their clients up in a way that protects them from as much liability as possible, and also sets them up for financial success.

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Florida

COURT ADMISSIONS

• Florida State Courts
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
• United States Court of Federal Claims

EDUCATION

• Mississippi College School of Law (J.D., May 1997)
• University of South Florida (M.Ed., May 1997)
• Southeastern University (B.A., May 1991)
• Completed first generation Biology Teacher Certification and Physical Science Certification
• Palm Beach State College (A.A., May 1989)
• President Palm Beach State College Student Government Association, full basketball scholarship

AFFILIATIONS

• Transportation Lawyers Association
• Florida Trucking Association Board of Directors (2019-2022)
• Florida Trucking Association Public Policy Committee
• Florida Trucking Association Member Recruitment Committee
• Motor Carrier Insurance Education Foundation (MCIEF) Honorary Member
• Motor Carrier Insurance Education Foundation (MCIEF) Thomas Ruke Fellows
• Polk State Corporate College, Supply Chain Management & Logistics Advisory Board

PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS

• Author, New SAE EDGE Research Report on Autonomous Vehicles: Unsettled Topics Concerning Automated Driving Systems and the Transportation Ecosystem (November 2019)
• Speaker, ATA Litigation Center Trucking Legal Forum 2020, “Motor Carriers, Independent Repair Facilities, and the Non-delegable Duty Doctrine; Le v. Colonial Freight Systems, Inc.: A Case Study” (July 2020)
• Speaker, 2019 FTA Rendezvous, “Safety is Not a Department” (April 2019)
• Speaker, BiTA MeetUp, “The Benefits of Blockchain in Supply Chain Fireside Chat” (April 2019)
• Speaker, Road Dog Trucking Radio (XM Radio), “Blockchain in Transportation” (February 2019)
• Speaker, CSCMP Central Florida Roundtable, “Risk and Liability Issues as they pertain to Supply Chain Organizations” (January 2018)
• Speaker, 2017 FTA Fall Roundup, “Business Continuity and Succession Planning” (October 2017)
• Author, The Transportation Lawyer, “It’s Not Easy Being Green (Then Blue, Then Red…) (February 2016)
• Speaker, TIAdvisors, “Enterprise Risk Management: What Your Customer is Talking About” (January 2013)
• Speaker, Transportation Law Institute, “Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right: Top Tips for Drafting Intermediary Contracts” (May 2012)
• Speaker, CIC Truckers II Seminar, “Transportation Treasures, The Pirate Rules of Conduct” (September 2011)
• Speaker, ACES Advanced Transportation Seminar, “Shipping Broker Issues – Contract Wording” (June 2011)
• Speaker, 2011 W.E. Love Seminar, “Transportation Treasures, The Pirate Rules of Conduct” (June 2011)
• Speaker, 2010 Advanced Truckers Seminar, “Practical Considerations for Independent Contractors, Motor Carriers, and Brokers Under the Motor Carrier Coverage Form” (Fall 2011)
• Speaker, Transportation Law Institute, “Three’s Company, Living Together in a Tripartite Relationship” (Fall 2010)
• Speaker, CIC Truckers II Seminar, “Supply Chain Risk Management Models. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” (Winter 2009)
• Speaker, Central Florida Roundtable, “Supply Chain Risk Management, Effective Solutions to Protect Your Business From the Perils of Legal Liability” (Fall 2009)
• Speaker, ADPi Convention, “What You Need to Know About Independent Contractors and Operating Your Non-Profit Organization” (Summer 2009)
• Speaker, Supply Chain Management Institute, “Supply Chain Management Law & Ethics” (Winter 2008)
• Speaker, CIC Truckers II Seminar, “Overview of Distribution System; Independent Operators” (Winter 2008)
• Speaker, HUB National Meeting, “Excess Insurance” (Winter 2008)
• Speaker, Advanced Truckers Seminar (AAMGA), “Contractual Considerations” (Winter 2008)
• Speaker, TIP National Partners Meeting, “Trucklines Changing Culture” (Fall 2008)
• Speaker, Association of Corporate Counsel, “Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on Privately Held Companies” (Winter 2004)
• Speaker, “Avoiding Personal Liability in Employment Claims” (2004)
• Speaker, “Emerging Trends in Employment Law” (2003)
• Speaker, Polk State College, “Ethics” (Fall-Spring 2001)
• Speaker, Polk County Real Estate Association, “Moral Neutrality” (Summer 2000)
• Speaker, American Trucking Association Litigation Conference, Beaver Creek, Colorado, (September 1999)