Warren Taylor

Warren Taylor Attorney/Mediator Office: 713-615-6061 Professional Qualifications Litigation Experience Thirty four years of practice, primarily representing businesses and insurers. More than sixty jury and nonjury trials and hundreds of mediations and near trials in a broad range of cases: contract and other business litigation, insurance coverage questions, first party bad faith insurance claims, arson and fraudulent insurance claims, construction, products liability, medical malpractice, legal malpractice, and other personal injury cases. Since 2009, has served as a mediator for more than 100 cases. Appellate Experience First chair on more than thirty appeals, including published opinions and several frequently cited cases. Mediation Experience As a litigator for almost 30 years, I have become increasingly aware that some of my best work never sees the inside of the courtroom. As much as we hone trial skills and fancy ourselves as gladiators for our clients, the ability to recognize and evaluate risk is far more important to our clients than our ability to conduct a trial. Counseling our clients and helping them make good, sensible decisions should really be our first priority. A number of litigators I know are hesitant to suggest mediation (or even to use the word settlement) because they believe it conveys weakness. On the contrary, mediation is an opportunity for clients to take control of the process (away from the judge and jury) and assert their own particular needs and wants. Settlement is not surrender: it is an opportunity. I have been in hundreds of mediations where the mediator provided little more than a room. In others, there was little negotiation but a lot of pressure from the mediator to make the parties reach the mediators idea of a fair settlement. As a mediator, I pledge to facilitate a discussion between the parties, attempting to reach resolution of the clients choosing. I will use my experience, depth of knowledge, and insight to ask questions ­­­­testing the parties, but letting them reach their own conclusions. I will work to help the parties resolve their case. Certifications and Honors Member: American Board of Trial Advocates 2012-present Board Certified: Civil Litigation, Texas Board of Legal Specialization 1992-present Board Certified: Personal Injury Trial, Texas Board of Legal Specialization 1992-present Mediation Certification A. A. White Dispute Resolution Center March, 2009 Named: Texas Monthly Super Lawyer 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Membership & Admissions Admitted to The Supreme Court of the United States of America The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States District Court for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas The State Bar of Texas Member State Bar of Texas Houston Bar Association Texas Association of Defense Counsel Defense Research Institute Houston Medical-Legal Society Texas Bar Foundation Houston Bar Foundation Sports Law Association Litigator, Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (1989-1996) Investigator, Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (1989-1996) Employment Taylor, Taylor & Russell, Founding Partner, May, 1995 (formerly Taylor & Taylor) Floyd, Taylor & Riley, Founding Partner, July, 1986-May, 1995 Butler & Binion, Associate attorney, May, 1981-July, 1986 Education University of Michigan, J. D., May 1981; Licensed October, 1981 Articles & Presentations Voir Dire and the Jury Charge - How to Master Two Essential Trial Skills that are often Overlooked - November 2009 Responding to the Fraud Case - January 2009 Guide Two? The Duty to Defend After Guide One - January 2008 Experts in Insurance Cases: Practice, Tactics and Limits - January 2007 Experts in Insurance Cases: Uses, Abuses, and Daubert - January 2006 Toxic Mold: Defense Perspective - May 2003 Homeowner Coverage Issues (Or, How the Texas Supreme Court Accidentally Slew the Golden Goose, Opened Pandoras Box and Changed the Nature of Insurance in Texas) - 2002 Good Faith Witness Preparation in a Bad Faith Age - November 2000 Detecting Insurance Fraud and Pursuing False Claims - March 2000 Identifying the Proper Defendants - November 1999 10 Cases Every Adjuster Should Know - June 1999 Alternatives to Suit: Judicial Interpretation of the Appraisal Clause - June 1999 When Is It Over? Statutes of Limitations on Insurance Claims - June 1999 How to Win Your Case In Voir Dire - A Defense Perspective - July 1998 Defending an Evil Empire? Seven Steps to Courtroom Success in Defending Insurance Companies, The Texas Lawyer - September 1997 Appellate Review of Jury Verdicts Finding a Breach of Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing - 1995 Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Insurance Code Update - 1995 The Third Party Extra-Contractual Cause of Action in Texas: Does One Exist? - 1994 Appellate Review of Jury Verdicts Finding a Breach of Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing - 1994