Robert S. Taylor

Robert S. Taylor was appointed Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Defense on April 13, 2009.

After graduation from Harvard Law School in 1975, where he was a member of the Harvard Law Review, Taylor clerked for Judge Francis Van Dusen of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  He then began his career in private practice with the firm of Leva, Hawes, Symington, Martin & Oppenheimer, in Washington, D.C.  That firm was led by Marx Leva, the first General Counsel of the Department of Defense.  Taylor was a founding lawyer with the firm of Swidler, Berlin and Strelow in 1982, where he specialized in environmental law.

In 1995, Taylor was appointed Deputy General Counsel, Environment and Installations, DoD.  In that position, he worked closely with the Military Departments and with other federal agencies, and he provided guidance to the Department’s leadership on all major environmental and installations-related matters, including implementation of BRAC (base closure and realignment) matters.  Taylor continued in that position through the end of 2001.

In 2002, Taylor returned to the private practice of law, most recently with the firm of Bingham, McCutchen. His practice dealt with such important issues as global climate change, and the siting of energy facilities.  Taylor served as a member of a Defense Science Board group on an energy strategy for the Department of Defense during 2006-2007.

In addition to Harvard Law School, Taylor is a graduate of Harvard College.  He is a member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar, and the bars of various Courts of Appeals and of the Supreme Court of the United States.