Boutique transportation and logistics law firm with Florida and Georgia offices, serving carriers, brokers, shippers and owner-operators on claims, contracts, DOT compliance and litigation.
Services
Who it serves
Overview
Taylor Nelson Slattery Bernard PL describes itself as a boutique transportation and logistics law firm with a national practice and a local footprint in central and south Florida. It also has an office in the Atlanta area. The firm says its attorneys bring real industry experience in trucking, transportation law and federal government contracting.
Its website lists two headquarters offices, in Winter Haven and St. Petersburg, Florida, plus offices in Jacksonville, Coconut Creek and Sandy Springs, Georgia. The firm's partners are JW Taylor, Bryan J. Nelson, Elle M. Slattery, Sophia L. Bernard, Todd C. Rubenstein, Billy Davis and Heather M. Frederick, and its team page lists a group of senior associates, associates and of counsel.
Because the firm is small and specialized, it says it often works like an in-house general counsel alongside a client's own leadership team.
Compare with other Transportation Attorneys providers: Holland & Knight, Husch Blackwell and Barnes & Thornburg, or see all Transportation Attorneys.
Services
The firm lists a long set of freight-specific practice areas. For freight brokers and intermediaries there are Transportation Brokers and Intermediaries; Cargo and Freight Claims; Contract Drafting and Negotiation; and TMS, Digital Freight and Technology. For carriers there are Transportation Regulatory and DOT Compliance; Independent Contractor and Driver Misclassification (Truth in Leasing); Intrastate, Exempt and Aggregate Hauling; Insurance Coverage, Renewals and Audits; and Personal Injury and Insurance Defense.
It also covers Maritime, Port and Drayage; Last Mile Transportation and Home Delivery; Import/Export (Customs Bond and Trade); Agriculture and PACA; Autonomous Vehicles and Emerging Technologies; Staffing and PEOs; Labor and Employment; Corporate Structure and Formation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Risk Management; Litigation and Dispute Resolution; Mediation and Arbitration; and Industry Advocacy.
The Agriculture and PACA listing is worth noting for produce brokers and carriers, since PACA trust and licensing issues come up often in that freight segment.
Who it is for
The firm says its clients include motor carriers, brokers, government contractors, agents, freight forwarders, shippers, owner-operators, warehouses, insurance companies and other logistics companies. That covers most of the FreightPicks audience.
It is a natural fit for Southeast-based carriers and brokers that want a dedicated transportation firm nearby, and for smaller and mid-size companies that want an outside general counsel for ongoing contract, compliance and claims work rather than calling a large firm matter by matter. The firm describes a national practice, so location is not a hard limit, but readers outside Florida and Georgia should ask about licensing and local counsel for court matters.
How working with them works
The firm does not publish fees on its website. It describes its approach as detail oriented and focused on listening to clients, evaluating liability exposure early and pursuing cooperative, business-minded settlements where that makes sense. Contact details for each office and a general email address are listed on the site.
The firm is involved in industry associations. Its About page says JW Taylor serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Trucking Association and that its members support the American Trucking Associations, the Florida Trucking Association, the California Trucking Association, the Women In Trucking Association, the Transportation Lawyers Association and the Conference of Freight Counsel.
The firm also lists Outside Special and General Counsel as a service, which is the model to ask about if you want ongoing access rather than one-off help.
Questions to ask before you sign
Do you have a conflict with the carrier, broker, shipper or insurer on the other side of my matter?
Which attorney would handle my work, and how much of their practice is freight claims, broker contracts or DOT compliance specifically?
What does an outside general counsel arrangement look like? Ask whether there is a monthly retainer, what it covers and how work outside it is billed.
Which states are your attorneys admitted in, and how do you handle a lawsuit filed outside Florida or Georgia?
For brokers: can you review my broker-carrier agreement, shipper agreement and carrier onboarding process together, and what would that cost?
For produce freight: do you handle PACA trust claims and licensing questions, and from which side?
Company background
The firm's website shows that it rebranded under the Taylor Nelson Slattery Bernard name, with the change announced in July 2025. The firm's founding year is not stated on the pages reviewed, so it is left blank here.
Super Lawyers lists JW Taylor as a Winter Haven transportation and maritime lawyer licensed in Florida since 1997. The firm joined the JAX Chamber in Jacksonville in 2025. Its team page lists seven partners, three senior associates, eight associates and of counsel, which puts it in the small to mid-size range for a specialist firm.
Sources
Information compiled from public sources. Last verified November 2026. Confirm details directly with the company.
