David W. Webber — Autobiographical Summary

Attorney

I’m a Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA) lawyer who specializes in AIDS/HIV and other infectious disease legal issues. I began practicing law in 1980 and soon began my own law firm as a sole practitioner. From 1980 to 1988, I served on a pro bono basis as Legal Counsel to the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force, now the Pennsylvania Lesbian and Gay Task Force. In 1988, in response to the growing need for legal services for persons with HIV disease, I founded the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit public interest law firm (you can read about the start-up of the AIDS Law Project in my article, The Legacy of Michael Nicolosi). I then served as the Law Project’s Executive Director (1988-1992) and Director of Education and Policy (1992-1994). I have also served on the Advisory Board to the National Lawyers Guild AIDS Network (1986-1994), the American Bar Association’s AIDS Coordinating Committee (2001-2003), and the Advisory Board for the Center for HIV Law & Policy (2005-2007). I consult with other attorneys on legal issues in this field and limit my own legal practice to selected cases involving significant public policy issues. I’ve been a member of the Pennsylvania bar since 1980. Currently I am “of counsel” to the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania.

Educator

In addition to my extensive experience in counseling and representing clients with AIDS and HIV, as well as others affected by the epidemic, I conduct numerous lectures and seminars on AIDS legal issues in many forums, for employers, government agencies, and social service and health care providers. I have taught both as a faculty member of the Pennsylvania AIDS Education and Training Center and as an instructor at Cabrini College and Villanova University. I’m formerly a lecturer in law at Temple University School of Law, where I taught “AIDS and the Law.” I have a strong interest in using the Internet as a means of disseminating information about AIDS/HIV legal and policy issues. In early 1996, I initiated an Internet mail list for attorneys and other advocates providing services to persons with HIV. The list is now hosted by Western New York Law Center and has more than 350 subscribers in numerous countries worldwide. My recent speaking engagements include the American Bar Association AIDS Coordination Project HIV/AIDS Law and Practice Conference, Dallas, Texas, April 2008, and Portland, Oregon, May 2006; the 2003 National HIV Prevention Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, July 2003; Lavender Law Conference, New York City, October 2003. In terms of my own education, I received my B.A. degree cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania (1976) and J.D. degree from Temple University (1980).

Author

I’ve written extensively on HIV legal issues, both for professional and nonprofessional readers. Most recently, I edited and contributed several chapters to the fourth edition of AIDS and the Law (2008). The 2010 update to this treatise will be available summer 2009. From 2000-2007, I served as Editor-in-Chief of the AIDS & Public Policy Journal. You can view a list of my publications, with links to those online, here.

Portrait photo credit: James G. Mundie

Disclaimer

The material on this web site is for informational purposes only. Because the information I provide may not apply to your specific situation, you should not rely on it as legal advice. The only advice I offer is that you not rely on legal materials on the Internet for legal advice, including the materials here. If you need legal advice or assistance, consult a qualified lawyer directly. Similarly, my provision of information on this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Such a relationship can only be created with my express consent. This web site is not an offer to provide legal services in any jurisdiction other than the one (Pennsylvania) in which I am licensed. I provide links to third-party web sites, but by providing links to them, I do not make any representations, other than those explicitly stated, regarding their content or privacy policies.