Robert L. Webster III

Partner
  • City :
    Tampa

Rob is a board-certified adoption attorney whose practice focuses on litigation and appeals arising from contested adoptions and includes the representation of adoption agencies, adoptive parents, and other adoption attorneys in contested adoption proceedings. Rob has filed briefs in each district court of appeal in Florida, the Florida Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court. He also specializes in DCF Interventions, enabling children in the foster care system to be adopted privately. Rob often presents to fellow attorneys and professionals on issues surrounding contested adoption litigation and appeals.

Rob received a B.A. degree in Government & World Affairs with a minor in Law & Justice from the University of Tampa in 2005, where he graduated magna cum laude and first in his major. Rob was also selected by the Faculty Honors Committee to study European Union Law and The Intelligence Services at New College, Oxford University for the Hilary Term, where he earned the U.S. equivalent of a 4.0 GPA. Rob then received his J.D. with an emphasis in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution from the Chapman University School of Law in Orange County, California, where he was an executive member of the Moot Court Board and won an ABA Moot Court Regional Championship, eventually placing in the top ten nationwide. Rob received book awards in Trial Advocacy and the Appellate Law Clinic and was also the first law student in school history to argue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as part of a pro bono clinic.

Rob is on the Board of Directors for the Florida Adoption Council (FAC) and, in October 2015, was elected as Vice-President of the organization, a position which he continues to hold. Rob also co-chairs the FAC’s Legislative Committee. He became board-certified in adoption law in 2016 and was subsequently appointed to serve on the Adoption Law Certification Committee through June 2024. Rob was appointed by the Florida Bar President to serve as Vice Chair of the Certification Committee in 2022 and Chair of the Committee in 2023. In 2021, he was awarded the Best in Tampa Award in the Adoption category. Rob is a Fellow of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) and a member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association.

Rob and his wife, Chelsea, are the parents to two boys, Rip & Atticus, and a girl, Lucy. He enjoys playing hockey in his spare time and has captained the Wolfpack Hockey Club since 2017. Rob is also an avid fan of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW

J.D., Emphasis Certificate in Advocacy & Dispute Resolution, 2008

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA

B.A., Government and World Affairs, magna cum laude, 2005

  • Board Certified in Adoption Law
  • Adoption Law Certification Committee, Florida Bar
  • Vice President, Florida Adoption Council (FAC)
  • Chairman, Amicus Brief Committee - Florida Adoption Council (FAC)
  • 2021 Best in Tampa, Adoption Category
  • Member, Florida Bar
  • Member, Hillsborough County Bar Association
  • What Lawyers and Tax Advisors Need to Know When Planning for a Couples’ Adoption, Bloomberg BNA
  • Current State of Second Parent Adoptions in Florida, Florida Adoption Council Conference
  • Judicial Panel - A View From the Bench, Moderator, Florida Adoption Council Conference, 2021
Intervention is a process by which a child who has been sheltered by the Department of Children & Families can be adopted privately by prospective...
We often get questions from clients, especially those adopting out of the foster care system, about adoption subsidy. Although the following is not intended as...

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