Butler Snow attorneys Amanda G. Taylor and Eric J. R. Nichols have been named Austin Monthly Legal Elite’s Top Attorneys of 2024 for their exceptional work within the city. This peer-nominated honor is bestowed upon worthy candidates who have succeeded in providing exceptional expertise and client service through their work in Austin, Texas.
Amanda Taylor is a detail-oriented lawyer who represents her clients with passion, stays current on emerging trends and issues, and brings a practical perspective to problem-solving. She has experience handling complex civil disputes regarding contracts, fraud, tax, insurance, products, employment, real property, and trust and estates. Amanda provides pro bono appellate services yearly and is committed to community service through her State and Local Bar Associations.
She has been recognized by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers® since 2014 and has also been listed on multiple lists, including Top 100 Texas Super Lawyers, Top 50 Central/West Texas Lawyers, Top 50 Women Texas Super Lawyers, and Texas Rising Star. Since 2021, Amanda has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® for her work in appellate practice and commercial litigation. Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, named her to their Litigation: Appellate (Texas) list in 2022 and 2023. In 2019, she was awarded the Litigation/Appellate Attorney Award by the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association (TCWLA). Amanda was also previously recognized as a Top Attorney in Appellate Law from 2019-2021.
Amanda has served in many different roles for the following organizations: the Austin Bar Association, the Travis County Women Lawyers Association, the State Bar of Texas, the Baylor Law School Alumni Association, and the Women in Law Institute at Texas Law. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and her Juris Doctor from Baylor University. She is admitted to the State Bar of Texas.
Eric Nichols practices both civil trial and criminal law. His background includes not only many years representing companies and individuals in private practice but also experience in both Texas state government and the federal government, having served as Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice for the Office of the Texas Attorney General, as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, and a law clerk to a federal judge. He also serves as the Chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, the board that oversees the operations of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which among other things operates the Texas state prison system, and the Windham School District, which provides educational and vocational programming to those incarcerated in Texas prisons.
Eric is AV® -Preeminent™ rated by Martindale-Hubbell® and has been recognized by numerous legal publications, including Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers in America®, Thomson Reuters Texas Super Lawyers®, Wall Street Journal, Austin Monthly, and American Lawyers Media. In 2020, Eric was appointed as Chair of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice by Texas Governor Greg Abbott through 2027.
He is a member or fellow of a number of legal associations, including the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Inns Court (Barbara Jordan Inn), the Texas Bar Foundation, the Austin Bar Association, the Austin Bar Foundation, the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, the Texas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
Eric earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. He is admitted to the State Bar of Texas and is Board Certified in Criminal Law.
