In 1999, Jeanne T. Tate started her own law firm after many successful and distinguished years at Shackleford, Farrior, Stallings & Evans, where she became one of the firm's first female partners in the firm's 90 year history, and Hill Ward Henderson, where she became the firm's first female partner.

Jeanne’s goal was to create a law firm dedicated solely to the practice of adoption law, so she could continue the work she had done in the field since the early 1980s. With that goal in mind, attorney Danelle D. Barksdale joined the firm shortly after its inception, followed by attorneys Martha A. Curtis in 2001, Steven Hurwitz in 2003, Nicole Ward Moore in 2005, and Robert L. Webster III in 2008. From the beginning, the firm and its clients have been supported by a group of paralegals and legal assistants with an unmatched level of commitment and experience in the field of adoption.

In 2001, Jeanne launched Heart of Adoptions, Inc., a fully-licensed child placing agency, and the two entities have worked closely together ever since. Similarly, in 2008, Heart of Adoptions Alliance, Inc. was born and has focused its work on international adoptions.

In 2002, Jeanne T. Tate, P.A. expanded to Naples, and in 2005, Attorney Nicole Ward Moore began operating an office in Orlando. Since its inception, Jeanne T. Tate, P.A. and its staff have garnered several awards, including the Tampa Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award and the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Firm of the Year Award. Moreover, the firm’s attorneys are widely regarded as some of the state’s foremost experts in the area of adoption law, having advocated for adoption in the legislative process and before the Florida Supreme Court. After many years of dedicated, distinguished practice, the law firm’s goal remains the same: to provide clients an unparalleled level of expertise, commitment, and personal service.