Dawn M. Taylor is a senior attorney with Brown & Barron, LLC. She has devoted her career to litigation involving toxic torts. Dawn worked hard to gain experience on both the defense and plaintiff’s side of litigation. Dawn has successfully defended and prosecuted toxic tort lawsuits. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in International Politics from Georgetown University. After two years teaching English in Japan, Dawn attended the Francis S. Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland to obtain her Juris Doctorate. 

Dawn has been an MVLS CAN member since the initiative began in April 2018 and has supported CAN through her participation on the Leadership Committee. Outside of her legal work, Dawn is a passionate animal rights advocate and serves as a board member on an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to the support and education of healthy pet ownership.

• Why did you choose to join MVLS CAN?

Since I started practicing law, I’ve helped friends and family with small legal issues by answering questions, writing letters, or simply directing them to the right place. I joined MVLS and CAN in order to give back through pro bono, and now that my first year at Brown & Barron is complete I’m looking forward to taking advantage of more pro bono opportunities in 2019.

• Why is pro bono important to you and why should young attorneys get involved?

Even though it doesn’t feel like it to us sometimes, what we do as lawyers is very complex and difficult to understand for those who aren’t familiar. Non-lawyers may feel fear and trepidation when it comes to legal issues since they don’t have the same tools we do. The system is inaccessible to them. Every day we’re in our own circle so we forget about the ones who don’t have the same opportunity to just “get a lawyer” whenever they need one. Everyone should do pro bono to help fight this problem. But especially young lawyers and law students because it will give them the opportunity to try new things beyond what is available in a law school classroom. Not only that, but it will also help them gain confidence since MVLS provides a lot of support to help them succeed and get some wins under their belt.

• What is your best advice for attorneys just starting out in their careers?

My best advice for those just starting out in their careers is to get a mentor – as many as you can! Volunteering is an avenue for finding those mentors, meeting new people, and experiencing different things. You never know where your next job, experience, or referral is going to come from and doing pro bono could open the door to those opportunities.