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 Legal Services now has more than 350 subscribers in numerous countries worldwide. My recent or upcoming speaking engagements include the 2003 National HIV Prevention Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, July 2003; Lavender Law Conference, New York City, October 2003; and American Bar Association AIDS Coordination Project HIV/AIDS Law and Practice Conference, New Orleans, January 2004. 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 (2007). You can view a list of my most recent publications, which includes links to their Internet versions. From 2000-2007, I served as Editor-in-Chief of the AIDS & Public Policy Journal.

If you have comments or questions, please send me an e-mail.

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