Our Team
Lee R. Taylor
Lee R. Taylor, Senior Partner, holds a B.A. in Psychology from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and his J.D. law degree from the Mercer University School of Law. While still in law school, he had already started his career in the legal profession as part of the university’s third-year practice program. Taylor has considerable experience on both sides of the courtroom. Before moving into a private practice that involved both civil litigation and criminal defense cases, he served as assistant district attorney for Dalton, Georgia.
Lee went on to serve as city attorney for Ellijay, Georgia; as county attorney for Gilmer County, Georgia, during the 1990s—a time of transition for the county from a rural Appalachian community to a suburb in the greater Atlanta metropolitan region; as special Assistant Attorney General for the state Department of Transportation and, also, for the state Department of Human Resources — dealing with rights-of-way cases, title transfers and condemnation litigation for the former, with cases for the Division of Family and Children Services for the latter.
Lee can also boast extensive experience in the creation of stoneware pottery, stemming from his family’s pottery business. An active member of the Lexington Baptist Church, he resides with his wife, Rebecca, on their family farm in Rockbridge County, where Taylor says the current crop is horses. The Taylor's have four children.
James D. McMichael
James D. McMichael has 36 years' experience as a lawyer. He is admitted to the practice of law in Virginia, Washington, DC, Maryland, and Louisiana. James has represented clients in hundreds of trials, arbitrations, and appeals, involving many areas of law, and has successfully negotiated settlements for just as many clients. He has been a speaker and moderator at Continuing Legal Education classes for lawyers, has published articles in scholarly legal journals and in business and industry publications, and has written briefs in cases which set important legal precedents.
James went to college at Louisiana State University. He then went to law school at the University of Texas, where he served on the Staff of the Texas Law Review, and graduated with Honors in 1982. He then began his practice of law with the firm of Liskow & Lewis, in his hometown of New Orleans, where he became a partner. In 1995, he joined the law firm of Shapiro, Lifschitz, & Schram, in Washington, DC, where he became Senior Counsel and Vice-President. In 2014, he became Instructor of Business Law at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, Virginia. James joined Spencer & Taylor in 2018.
James lives in Buena Vista, Virginia, with his wife Robin. He has two grown children, and his daughter is a lawyer in Norfolk, Virginia. James is a huge LSU Tigers fan.
Janet Tomlin
Janet Tomlin has been working as a Paralegal at Spencer & Taylor, PLC since 1990. Janet assists with estate planning, corporate work, and all civil and criminal litigation. While Janet has extensive experience in all matters, she most enjoys assisting with traffic cases.
Alan Tilson
Alan Tilson has been working as a Paralegal at Spencer & Taylor, PLC since 2003. Prior to his career as a Paralegal, Alan worked for a real estate agency in Lexington. At Spencer & Taylor, PLC, his specialty is real estate and he focuses most of his time on title examinations and title insurance.
Sandy Hostetter
Sandy Hostetter has been working as a Paralegal at Spencer & Taylor, PLC since July 2012. Prior to joining Spencer & Taylor, Sandy worked for a construction firm. Sandy specializes in real estate matters and assists with the majority of the real estate closings at the Lexington office.
Robin Flint
Robin Flint began working at Spencer & Taylor, PLC in June 2013. Prior to joining the Spencer and Taylor staff, Robin spent 21 years teaching elementary students. She is currently the Lead Paralegal of the Buena Vista office where she manages the day to day operations of the office and assists in real estate matters, criminal and civil litigation, and estate planning.
Lisa-Maria Markham
Paralegal
Lois Kallsen
Legal Assistant