An Interview with Lorrie Sinclair Taylor

Authors

Lorrie Sinclair Taylor
Mary Gorham

Files

Interview Date

4-19-2025

Description

"I would travel back to Northern Virginia almost every week after legal skills on Friday, until I really developed the friendships and the family in my Black Law Students Association community. And that's what kept me here. We just did things together. We ate dinner together, we made community meals together, we hung out, we did social activities, and I met my husband here... he introduced me to a lot of the local things, which made me appreciate my time here at William & Mary even more." -- Lorrie Sinclair Taylor

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Judge Lorrie Sinclair Taylor was interviewed on April 19th, 2025, in the William & Mary Media Center’s Production Studio. She begins the interview by talking about her large family of Jamaican immigrants, of which she is the youngest, and how they influenced her decision to practice law. Judge Sinclair Taylor then goes on to recount how she ended up in Virginia at George Mason for undergraduate and William & Mary for law school, where she connected with the Black Law Student’s Association and met close friends and mentors. She then discusses her work as a practicing attorney, serving as both a prosecutor and private practice attorney in Virginia before deciding to apply for the bench. Judge Sinclair Taylor then reflects on the feeling and history behind her being the first Black judge in the 20th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, and what that means to her and others who look up to her. She finishes the interview talking about the importance of having mentorship and support, and shares love for her family who has stood by her side.

Run Time

00:33:02

Comments

A transcript and guide to the oral history are available as additional files, above.

Use the CC button on the video to toggle captions on and off.

Keywords

Paul Marcus, Eileen A. Olds, Joni McCray Wiredu, African American judges--Virginia, Black Law Students Association (formerly BALSA), Class of 1996, First-generation law students, Public prosecutors, Women lawyers

Local Identifier

OH.2025.006

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright for these materials remains with their narrator. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce for reasons not covered by fair use must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Recommended Citation

Sinclair Taylor, Lorrie and Gorham, Mary, "An Interview with Lorrie Sinclair Taylor" (2025). William & Mary Law School Oral Histories. 23.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/oralhist_all/23