Adam Taylor
Partner, Taylor, Hinkle & Taylor, Attorneys at Law, Inc.
Written by Brooke Brown
Photo by Sheena Pendley.
Long before he became the founding partner of Taylor, Hinkle & Taylor, Attorneys at Law, Inc., Adam Taylor knew he wanted a career centered on purpose, service and constant growth. More than chasing a specific job title, his early professional decisions were driven by a desire to engage in meaningful work, contribute to a greater whole and build a stable life. Today, Taylor is widely recognized as one of Southern West Virginia’ s most dedicated attorneys and community advocates. Driven by a natural sense of civic responsibility, Taylor has carved a unique space where law, leadership and creativity connect. As an inductee into West Virginia Executive’ s Lawyers & Leaders Class of 2026, Taylor stands as a testament to the idea that an attorney’ s true value is measured by the strength of the community they build around them.
Taylor grew up in the town of Pineville, WV. He learned early that community is something you actively build on. His mother, Judy Tackett, was a beloved elementary school teacher who spent 35 years in the classroom. His father, Sherman Taylor, was a mortgage officer who worked in both the Pineville and Welch communities.
“ Both of my parents were active in my small town, and that built my sense of community involvement, duty and expectation,” he says.“ Everyone pitched in because everyone had to. In a very real small-town sense, without this mentality, there would have been nothing.”
During his childhood, Taylor was active in organized sports, including baseball, basketball and tennis, eventually rising to lead the tennis team at Wyoming East
High School. At the same time, his church community became an important creative outlet, particularly through annual performances and plays that helped spark his lifelong passion for the arts.
Taylor graduated from West Virginia University( WVU) in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in theater. His emphasis was on stage management, the behind-the-scenes administration of live productions. While his colleagues often view his transition from theater to law as a complete turnaround, Taylor sees them as related fields.
“ My arts degree focused on the human condition: what motivates people, what their values are and how we got here,” he says.“ I refined my public speaking. I not only learned but ran de facto companies of more than 25 people for every production, including budgeting, personnel and scheduling. Everything I learned and practiced was helpful when I opened my law practice.”
In 2008, Taylor returned to Morgantown to attend WVU College of Law. Despite his organizational leadership experience, law school initially proved difficult for him. Taylor felt like he did not belong there, a belief he felt was guided by self-doubt. Eventually, he found help from professors and mentors like Charles DiSalvo and Jennifer Powell. They introduced him to the law school’ s public service ecosystem, which became what he calls his safe harbor.
“ I was reminded of the shared humanity in an otherwise unpleasant situation, and I’ ll always be grateful for that,” he says.
His first job after graduating law school sent him all over the state of West Virginia. His first supervising attorney had Taylor managing high-stakes cases ranging from felonies to complex divorces and car wrecks. To him, it was a daunting task. Along the way, he learned to ask for help, discovering a supportive network of colleagues he could rely on.
“ The practice of law is intimidating, and it’ s easy to feel like knives are out for you all the time,” he says.“ That’ s just not true. You find people you can rely on, and you work together.”
The early years of his career were defined by a rigorous tenure as a child guardian ad litem in family and circuit
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