Lester E. Taylor III

Lester Taylor is a Partner at Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Cappelli and chairs the firm’s education practice group focusing on representing boards of education in matters related to general counsel services, special education, litigation, labor, employment, and workers’ compensation. He also is involved with the firm’s labor & employment, litigation, municipal law, and redevelopment practice groups.

Lester has represented state, county, and municipal public entities. He has significant experience in all facets of education law and has represented a number of urban and suburban school districts throughout New Jersey. Lester presently represents the Camden City School District, Warren County Special Services School District, Jersey City Board of Education, West New York Board of Education, Willingboro Board of Education, Elizabeth Board of Education, and Paterson Board of Education. In addition, he represents a number of municipalities including Irvington, Trenton, and Paterson in labor and employment and litigation related matters and housing authorities including Long Branch, Asbury Park, and Phillipsburg.

While in law school, Lester served as a legislative associate for Dominion, a fully integrated electric and natural gas utility company, in its Washington, D.C. government affairs office. Following graduation from law school, Lester served as a law clerk to the Honorable Zinora M. Mitchell-Rankin, Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He then worked as an associate at a law firm in Newark, New Jersey in the areas of general civil and criminal litigation, with a focus on representing local boards of education and other public entities.

Lester served as Mayor of the City of East Orange, NJ from 2014-2017. He serves as a Trustee for the Northern Region of the New Jersey Association of School Attorneys, and was named in the August 2010 New Jersey Law Journal as one of the “Top 40 Lawyers Under 40” in the entire state of New Jersey. Mr. Taylor has received numerous awards and recognition from various civic organizations and often volunteers his time speaking with students on the importance of education and developing leadership skills. Lester frequently attends and conducts legal seminars to stay abreast of changes in the law.

Recent Presentations:

• Directors of Athletics Association of New Jersey Annual Conference, March 12, 2019 – Speaker “School Law Update for Athletics”
• New Jersey Future Annual Redevelopment Conference, March 8, 2019 – Moderator “Building the Infrastructure New Jersey Needs”
• 2019 Annual School Law Conference, February 5, 2019 – Panelist “Legal Implications of Student Safety”
• New Jersey Future & Jersey Waterworks Collaborative Conference, December 7, 2018 – Panelist “Breaking Through: Overcoming the Water Funding Challenge”
• New Jersey School Boards Association Annual Conference, October 24, 2018 – Learning Lab, Topic “The Impact of the Janis Decision”
• Union County Schools Boards Association meeting, October 17, 2018 – Speaker “Code of Ethics and Implications of Social Media”
• New Jersey School Boards Association Annual Spring School Law Forum, June 12, 2018 – Panelist “Teacher Strikes”
• New Jersey Public Employment Conference presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, April 27, 2018 – Panelist “Teacher Negotiations”
• New Jersey School Boards Association & Bergen County School Boards Association Roundtable, January 31, 2018 – Panelist “Sexual Harassment”