J. Van Wyck Taylor
Forty years on Broad Street. Thousands of South Carolina injury victims. One undivided focus — making the people and companies who hurt them pay what they actually owe.
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- U.S. Navy JAG Corps veteran
- Personal injury — exclusively
- Trial-tested in SC courtrooms
From Navy courtrooms to Broad Street.
Van Taylor came to personal injury law the long way around. After UNC and USC Law, he commissioned into the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, eventually running civilian Navy claims for the entire Southeastern United States. Those years gave him something most plaintiff's attorneys never get: a working knowledge of how the other side thinks about a file before they ever pick up the phone to call you.
In 1984 he opened Taylor & Taylor in Charleston with a single rule that has never changed: the firm represents injured people, not insurance companies and not corporate defendants. Forty years later, the rule still holds — and the same Broad Street address now houses two generations of the family practicing under it.
Van's work has been recognized by induction into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an organization limited to trial lawyers who have won million-dollar verdicts or settlements — fewer than 1% of U.S. attorneys qualify. But ask him what he's proudest of and he'll point to the thousand-plus South Carolina families who walked into his office in the worst week of their lives and walked out whole.
Forty years, one focus.
- 1973
B.A., English — UNC Chapel Hill
Earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he became a lifelong member of Delta Kappa Epsilon.
- 1976
J.D. — University of South Carolina School of Law
Returned to South Carolina for law school, admitted to the SC Bar the same year.
- 1977–1980
Judge Advocate General Corps, U.S. Navy
Commissioned officer in the Navy JAG Corps, stationed in Charleston. Tried courts-martial, advised commands, and litigated complex government claims.
- 1980–1984
Head Civilian Navy Claims Attorney, Southeast U.S.
Promoted to lead Navy claims litigation across the Southeastern United States — the foundation of his deep insurance and tort defense knowledge.
- 1984
Founded Taylor & Taylor in Charleston
Hung his shingle on Broad Street and committed his practice exclusively to representing injured South Carolinians — never insurance companies, never corporations.
- Today
Million Dollar Advocates Forum
Inducted into one of the most selective trial-lawyer organizations in the country. Continues to try cases and mentor his son Howard at the same Broad Street address.
"I learned defending the Navy that insurance companies do the math on every file before they ever talk to you. My job is to make their math wrong."
A representative slice of the work.
Past results don't guarantee future outcomes — every case turns on its own facts. These are simply representative.
A multi-vehicle highway collision with disputed liability and serious permanent injury — taken to verdict against a national insurer that refused to negotiate fairly.
Full policy-limits settlement plus stacked UIM coverage for a Charleston-area client struck by an impaired driver — recovered without trial.
Briefs and arguments that helped clarify how South Carolina interprets stacked UM/UIM coverage — work that has benefitted injury victims statewide.
Education, service, and bar memberships
Education
- Woodberry Forest School, Virginia (1969)
- B.A., English — University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1973)
- J.D. — University of South Carolina School of Law (1976)
Professional Memberships
- South Carolina Bar (1976)
- Charleston Bar Association (1977)
- South Carolina Association for Justice (1984)
- American Association for Justice (1984)
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
Military Service
- Judge Advocate General Corps, U.S. Navy, Charleston (1977–1980)
- Head Civilian Navy Claims Attorney, Southeastern U.S. (1980–1984)
Civic & Social
- Delta Kappa Epsilon (UNC)
- Carolina Yacht Club
- Hibernian Society of Charleston
When he's not in court
Van is a fifth-generation Charlestonian, husband to Eleanor Wilson Taylor, and father to Howard and John Van Wyck Taylor Jr.
Talk to Van — at no cost to you.
Free consultation, available 24/7. No fee unless we recover money for you.
Or read about Howard W. Taylor →