On January 2, 2003, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals appointed Richard D. Taylor as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He replaces U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Fussell, who retired in January.

Judge Taylor was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1955. He graduated with honors from Centenary College of Louisiana in 1976 with a degree in history. He later moved to Arkansas, and he received his law degree, also with honors, from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1980.

After graduating from law school, he went to work for the firm of Friday, Eldredge & Clark, where he eventually became a partner. His practice focused on bankruptcy, and commercial litigation.

In addition to practicing law, he worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, where he taught an undergraduate class in real property as well as a bankruptcy reorganization class at the law school. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and was listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Bankruptcy Practice, 1999-2002.

In addition to his legal work, he has served as a weekly mentor to students at the Rockefeller Elementary School in Little Rock. Each holiday season, he brought the students to his downtown office for candy and caroling.

Judge Taylor was sworn in on January 3, 2003, and his investiture took place on January 24, 2003. Welcome, Judge Taylor!