Byron F. Taylor

BYRON TAYLOR is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and a co-leader of Sidley’s Environmental, Health, and Safety practice. His practice includes civil litigation, crisis response, compliance counseling, internal investigations, regulatory advocacy, and environmental aspects of transactions. 

Byron assists clients and advises boards in high-stakes matters following major environmental incidents, including matters that involve both environmental regulatory issues and related tort claims. He also frequently provides key strategic advice on regulatory and permit matters and defends clients against alleged violations of a variety of federal and state environmental laws. Over the past several years, Byron has become well known for his work on complex Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act matters. 

Byron has been recognized by Chambers USA in Illinois Environment: Litigation (2013–2025), which clients in 2025 noted that he is a “fantastic partner and I trust his counsel due to his deep experience and practical, level-headed approach” and he is a “strong technical thinker and was able to work to get results.” Byron was named to Chicago United’s 2023 “Business Leaders of Color” list, Crain’s Chicago Business’ 2019 list of “Notable Minorities in Accounting, Consulting & Law” and its 2022 list of “Notable Black Leaders & Executives.” He is also listed among the 2023 Lawdragon “Green 500: Leaders in Environmental Law” and 2023 Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) “Rainmaker.” In 2024, the Chicago Bar Association awarded him the Earl B. Dickerson Award, which honors minority lawyers and judges who fight for justice and equality in the legal profession.

Within the firm, Byron is a co-chair of the Inclusion Committee and serves on the Counsel Committee.

• A medical device sterilization company in regulatory litigation, permitting matters, and new rule development relating to ethylene oxide air emissions at multiple facilities across the country.
• A manufacturer in a joint federal and state enforcement action concerning claims of NPDES permit violations and a related fish kill at a facility in the Midwest.
• An oil pipeline company in enforcement litigation following a release of crude oil.
• A petroleum refining company in obtaining the air emission construction permit for a major expansion and negotiating an innovative agreement with an environmental citizen’s group concerning the project.
• A petroleum refining company against claims of excess flaring and an upset event that included a release affecting a nearby neighborhood.
• Successfully negotiated a federal and state settlement agreement covering air emissions from a coke oven battery.
• A manufacturing company in a RCRA 3008(h) correction action matter concerning a currently operating facility.
• A Midwestern electric utility company in a Clean Air Act New Source Review enforcement matter that ultimately was dismissed by the federal court;
• An electric generating station against an interstate claim that emissions from the plant violated the law in the neighboring state.

Byron sits on the board of Hephzibah Children’s Association, an organization dedicated to helping children and families thrive through group homes, comprehensive services for crisis situations, foster care, adoption and day care programs. A champion of education, he is also on the board of Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which is dedicated to preparing the next generation of workforce talent through scholarships and leadership development. He is also a member of the following professional organizations:

• American Bar Association—Former Vice-Chair of Air Quality Committee
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Chicago Bar Association
• Fellow, American College of Environmental Lawyers