Parris A. Taylor joined our firm’s Baton Rouge office within the past year, and we couldn’t be more honored to have him here. He brings with him years of experience in education law, focusing largely on special education, and this is where he thrives with us today.

Before joining our firm, he recently retired as part of the Louisiana Department of Education’s Executive Counsel Team, and the statewide coordinator for the LDOE’s dispute resolution program for students with exceptionalities. Parris was also a former IDEA Administrative Law Judge and Deputy General Counsel with the State of Louisiana’s Division of Administrative Law before joining the Louisiana Department of Education.

Parris started his legal career as a general practitioner with Tyson, Pitcher, Avery & Cunningham before taking a position as a child support attorney with the State of Louisiana’s Department of Children and Family Services, and this is where his passion for fighting for the rights of children started. He later transferred to join its Bureau of General Counsel’s legal staff where he also worked as a child protection attorney with the Office of Child Welfare.

Dedication and service is something that Parris is extremely passionate about, and he has continued to serve his community by serving as founding chair, and co-chair, and currently being a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Children’s Law Committee. He is also a member of the LSBA’s Legal Services for Persons with Disabilities Committee.

Parris has also been an invited speaker at national special education workshops including, the National IDEA Academy, the Lehigh University Special Education Law Symposium, and the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education. He has also conducted continuing legal education seminars around the state for the Louisiana State Legislature, the Louisiana State Bar Association, and has been a featured presenter for community stakeholder groups and non-governmental organizations.

In the past, Parris has also served as a member of the Louisiana State Legislature’s Child in Need of Care Task Force, a participant in the Louisiana Child Support Guideline Committee, and was a past president of the Louisiana Association of Administrative Law judges.

In 1994, Parris earned his bachelor’s degree in International Studies & Relations from Morgan State University in Baltimore. He then went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center in 1997, where he returned to serve as an adjunct professor teaching administrative law. Parris is also currently a member of the Lions Club and a long-standing member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., another testament to his dedication to serving his community and others.