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R. Trent Taylor
Partner 
One James Center
rtaylor@mcguirewoods.com901 East Cary Street Richmond, Virginia 23219-4030 F: 804.225.5409    |
Mr. Taylor focuses on defending complex toxic tort and products liability cases. His experience includes representing clients in class actions, MDL coordinated proceedings, nationwide mass tort litigation, and appellate cases in the substantive areas of toxic torts and medical devices. He defends cases involving complex scientific and medical issues, and has concentrated in the defense of novel claims brought by plaintiffs, including public nuisance, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and deceptive trade practices.
- Appellate
- Class Action Litigation
- Product & Consumer Litigation
- Products Liability
- Toxic Tort & Environmental Litigation
- Climate Change
- Food & Beverage Production
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Associate, Arnold & Porter, Washington, D.C., 1999-2002
- Judicial Clerk, Judge Harry Wellford, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, 1998-1999
- "When Recusals Kill the Quorum," Law 360, Portfolio Media Inc., July 7, 2010
- "Landmark Climate Change Suit Dismissed on Appeal by Quorum-Less 5th Circuit," Mondaq Business Briefing. & McGuireWoods News, June 10, 2010
- "Key Nuisance Case (State of North Carolina v. TVA) Almost Certain to Be Reversed by 4th Circuit Panel," McGuireWoods News, May 20, 2010
- "Will Climate Change Suits Make It To the Supreme Court?" Law 360, Portfolio Media Inc., May 13, 2010
- "Landmark Climate Change Lawsuits in Comer v. Murphy Oil and Connecticut v. American Electric Power Headed to U.S. Supreme Court Sooner Than Expected?" Mondaq Business Briefing & McGuireWoods News, May 7, 2010
- "Climate Change Litigation: Ripe for Growth?" POWER magazine, October 1, 2009
- "2nd Circuit Rejects Political Question Dismissal of Key Climate Change Case," McGuireWoods News, September 23, 2009 (co-author)
- "The tort that refuses to die" (co-authored with Steven R. Williams and James T. Lynn), National Law Journal, April 6, 2009
- "State of North Carolina v. TVA - A New Era in Public Nuisance Law?" Toxics Law Reporter, March 12, 2009
- "Spoliation of Evidence in State and Federal Courts in Virginia," (Co-authored with Collin Hite), The Journal of Civil Litigation, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Fall 2007
- Frequent commentator on legal issues. Has been quoted by New York Times, Wall Street Journal, American Lawyer, the National Law Journal, and numerous influential legal blogs, among others. Interviewed on NPR's "All Things Considered" on June 8, 2010, to discuss appellate issues.
- Panelist, Climate Change Nuisance Litigation: Emerging Trends and Defense Strategy for Global Warming Claims, Strafford Publications Webinar, June 22, 2010
- Speaker, Nuisance: How It Has Become a Chief Threat to Corporate Defendants & How to Defend Against It, McGuireWoods LLP Webinar, May 13, 2010
- Speaker, Nuisance Litigation: Past, Present, and Future, Wilmington, DE, February 17, 2010
- Speaker, Removal to Federal Court: Beyond the Basics, Virginia CLE Webinar, November 4, 2009
- Speaker, The Gathering Storm of Climate Change Litigation & Policy for Corporate America: A Discussion of the Legal & Regulatory Implications of the 2nd Circuit's Recent Decision in Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co., McGuireWoods LLP Webinar, October 15, 2009
- Panelist, Global Swarming: Who Will Recover the Costs Of Climate Change Compliance and "By-product Liability"?, McGuireWoods LLP's 8th Annual Coal Industry Briefing, September 30, 2009
- Speaker, The 2008-09 U.S. Supreme Court Term in Review and Outlook for 2009-10, McGuireWoods LLP, August 2009
- Panelist, Common Law & Statutory Damage Theories & the Potential Litigation Agenda in the Era of Climate Change, McGuireWoods LLP's 9th Annual Environmental and Energy Issues Symposium, May 6, 2009
- Speaker, Defending Emergent Claims – A Soup and Nuts Approach, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Annual Meeting, 2008
- Speaker, Chief Justice Roberts as Jedi Knight?: The 2007-08 U.S. Supreme Court Term in Review and Outlook for 2008-09, McGuireWoods LLP, August 2008
- Speaker, The (Conservative) Empire Strikes Back!: The 2006-07 U.S. Supreme Court Term in Review and Outlook for 2007-08, McGuireWoods LLP, August 2007
- Speaker, Plaintiffs' Expansion of Traditional Tort Doctrines – Lessons Learned from the Lead Paint Litigation, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Annual Meeting 2006
- Coach, University of Richmond Mock Trial Team
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EDUCATION Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, J.D., 1998 Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, B.A., 1995 ADMITTED Virginia 2002 Tennessee 1999 U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit PLACE OF BIRTH Dyersburg, Tennessee |