Attorney
San Luis Obispo, California, 93401
My name is Scott Taylor and I am an attorney with a focus on DUI defense, and the founder of the Taylor Defense Firm located in San Luis Obispo, CA. I have devoted my career to the protection of people in need. The reason I founded Taylor Defense Firm is because over my career, I have encountered countless people who are treated as just another file, or a paycheck. The feedback I have consistently received from my clients and their families over the years is that I truly care about my clients and only want the best for them.
I am passionate about defending my clients, and bring experience and professionalism to every case. I had a long path to opening Taylor Defense Firm here in San Luis Obispo, California. I grew up in Texas with dreams of attending the Naval Academy. However, my father became ill and I attended college closer to home. I left Texas to attend the University of Oklahoma College of Law, where my mother fell ill and passed away as well. From the infancy of my legal career, I learned to bring a compassion and tenacity to my cases.
Upon graduation from law school, I gave myself a fresh start and moved away from my friends and classmates to move closer to family and threw myself into the heavy caseload of the Missouri Public Defenders Office in the Kansas City Trial Office. I knew as I began my legal career that what I needed more than anything was experience. I was lucky enough to have four fantastic mentors who taught me how to succeed in the courtroom. The primary lesson they imparted to me is to never stop learning, and they gave me a hunger to always seek to improve no matter what great results I achieved for my clients the year before. There is nothing quite like the experience of a Public Defender. From day one, you are inundated with a high case-load, lack of appreciation, and the awesome pressure of being responsible for the legal future of your client. The Public Defender experience gave me the trial work I was looking for. My very first trial was a murder trial, and I was thrown into serious felony and misdemeanor charges in Kansas City, MO.
I spent four years defending indigent clients against a wide variety of charges. As a Public Defender, I picked up a client who was a Gulf War Veteran. He had been discharged from the Army for drug offenses, and had been given a bad conduct discharge. That meant that no one ever gave him help for his raging drug habit, which to this day I am convinced he developed as a way to cope with his PTSD. I argued to the Judge that we needed to respect his service and offer him the rehabilitation he had never received. The Judge turned the tables on me, and asked me if I was too good to serve my country. Beyond the shock of his question, it re-kindled the dream I had since I was a child, to serve my country. Fortunately, my wife was excited at the prospect, and we decided to join the Air Force JAG Corps. I got my client the probation I was fighting for, and the Judge that challenged me was the person to administer my Oath of Commission. I was assigned to Vandenberg AFB on the Central Coast of California.
My wife and I were immediately overwhelmed with the beauty of this area, and were so thankful to have been stationed here. For two years, I prosecuted cases for the Air Force while I worked at the legal office. I was assigned the most serious cases the office prosecuted, and I had a 100% conviction rate. I was ranked the #1 attorney in my office both years that I was there. At the end of my time in the legal office, I was hand-selected to serve as the Area Defense Counsel (ADC) for Vandenberg AFB. It meant that we got to stay in San Luis Obispo, and I got to continue defending people instead of prosecuting, which is where my heart is. I got the opportunity to protect service-members and try to protect them from losing their benefits or their liberty. I firmly believe that you do not give up your Constitutional Rights without getting something in return. I have seen clients come in who believe their case is hopeless and want to throw themselves on the mercy of the court. The problem with that approach is that you are seldom shown mercy.
If you want common sense to prevail, and for your fate to be based upon all of the facts rather than a small portion of misleading bad facts, then you need a lawyer who will fight to make that happen. Do not take it for granted that things will work out. Every case is different. Sometimes a negotiated settlement strategically makes sense. I have taken cases to trial against overwhelming evidence and succeeded on more than one occasion when a client who had nothing to lose. No lawyer can promise you any result, but I can promise you if you hire me as your attorney I will fight for you with passion and vigor. I have the experience to win in the courtroom for you, and the background to truly care about you and your family to do everything I can to put you in a position to succeed.
When the Air Force told me my next assignment, my wife and I made the decision that we could not leave the Central Coast of California. We have come to love the area and the people who live here. My clients will get the benefit of ten years of litigation experience in multiple states as well as civilian and military jurisdictions. I have a passion for representing military clients for both on and off duty misconduct, but I have spent considerable time defending clients in civilian and military courts. I bring my experience and aggressive defense style to every client regardless of their background, and I look forward to protecting you.
