Adria Lynn Silva

Top rated Schools & Education attorney in Tampa, Florida

Sass Law Firm
Adria Lynn Silva
Sass Law Firm

Practice areas: Schools & Education, Employment & Labor, Civil Rights; view more

Licensed in Florida since: 1998

Education: University of Miami School of Law

Languages spoken: English, Spanish

Selected to Super Lawyers: 2023 - 2026 Selected to Rising Stars: 2012

Sass Law Firm

601 West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
Tampa, FL 33603 Visit website
Details

Ms. Silva is an attorney at Sass Law Firm with over 25 years of experience in labor and employment law matters, representing employees suffering discrimination and harassment based on age, disability, family status, gender/sex, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, and sexual orientation. She has extensive experience representing students and employees in Title IX claims against high schools, vocational schools, and universities, regarding a variety of issues including claims of pregnancy discrimination, access to athletics, equal pay, harassment, and retaliation. She currently serves as a Board Member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and is the NELA Vice President of Affiliate Relations. In 2025, Ms. Silva was elected to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is serving on the Executive Council of the Florida Bar Labor and Employment Section.

In addition to her employment and Title IX practice, Ms. Silva has represented homeowners and tenants under the Fair Housing Act and customers and patrons in cases of discrimination in places of public accommodation.


Before joining Sass Law Firm, Ms. Silva spent years in her own private practice representing students and employees in discrimination, retaliation and harassment cases. She began her legal career with Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc. in Immokalee, Florida, representing migrant farmworkers in employment discrimination cases and cases brought under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Most recently, she worked at another employee rights law firm for two years.  She is bilingual in English and Spanish, and Ms. Silva has dedicated her career to advocating for individuals affected by discrimination, harassment or retaliation. 

Ms. Silva graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Miami School of Law. Ms. Silva is licensed to practice in the United States Supreme Court, the State of Florida, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Ms. Silva previously served on the executive board of the Florida Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association (Florida NELA) for seven years and served as the President in 2009-2010. Ms. Silva was the 2012-2013 President of the Thomas S. Biggs American Inn of Court (now Michael R. N. McDonnell American Inn of Court) and is currently serving on the Inn executive board. Ms. Silva often speaks on various topics in employment and Title IX law and contributed to a book, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act: A Guide for the Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyer, on pregnancy discrimination regarding Title IX and pregnancy.

For a full list of Adria’s awards, publications, speaking engagements, associations and committees, check out her Resume CV at EmploymentLawTampa.com.

Practice areas

Schools & Education, Employment & Labor: Employee, Civil Rights

Focus areas

Disability, Discrimination, Education, Employment Law - Employee, Labor Law, Race Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Wage & Hour Laws

  • 50% Schools & Education
  • 40% Employment & Labor: Employee
  • 10% Civil Rights

First Admitted: 1998, Florida

Professional Webpage: https://www.employmentlawtampa.com/attorneys/adria-lynn-silv...

Bar / Professional Activity

  • Board Member, National Employment Lawyers Association, 2023-present
  • Election to College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, (Induction November 2025)
  • Vice President, Affiliate Relations, NELA, 2025
  • Co-Chair, NELA Ethics and Sanctions Committee, 2025
  • Executive Council, Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section, 2025 
  • Committee Chair, Voluntary Bar Committee for The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section, 2025
  • Florida Supreme Court, 1998
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 2020
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1998
  • United States District Court, Northern District of Florida, 2009
  • United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, 1998
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2022
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 1999
  • United States Supreme Court, 2003
  • The Florida Bar, 1998
  • Member, Florida Chapter, National Employment Lawyers Association, 2001 to present
  • Board Member, Michael R.N. McDonnell (f/k/a Thomas S. Biggs) American Inn of Court, 2007-present
  • Board Member Appointment, Florida Legal Services, Inc., 2014-2016
  • President, Michael R.N. McDonnell (f/k/a Thomas S. Biggs) American Inn of Court, 2012-2013
  • Chair, EEOC Liaison Committee, Florida Chapter, National Employment Lawyers Association, 2013
  • Board Member, Florida Chapter, National Employment Lawyers Association, 2006-2013
  • President, Florida Chapter, National Employment Lawyers Association, 2009-2010

Educational Background

  • University of California, Berkeley, California, Bachelor of Arts, 1993

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

  • Discovery/Pre-Trial Advocacy: Organizing your Discovery for Success, National Employment Lawyers Association Annual Convention, June 2024, Speaker
  • Litigation and Technology Webinar: Responding to Summary Judgment, The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section March 5, 2025
  • The Intersection of Criminal Law and Employment Law, The Corporate Miranda Warning: Does the Employee Have a Civil Claim?, National Employment Lawyers Association, Baltimore, Maryland June 26, 2025
  • Chapter Author of Title IX: Discrimination in Education and Ch. 9(v) The Fair Housing Act, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act: A Guide for the Plaintiffs Employment Lawyer (P. Daniel Williams, BNA Books), 2011
  • Employment Classification in Collegiate Athletics – HCBA Lawyer Magazine, July-August 2023
  • The materials linked below are being made available for informational purposes only and are not to be relied upon as legal advice
  • Remedies in Public Employee Cases (Public Employees), National Employment Lawyers Association Representing Federal and Public Employees, April 2024, Speaker
  • Emerging Issues in Title IX Litigation (Public Employees), National Employment Lawyers Association Representing Federal and Public Employees, April 2024, Speaker
  • Discovery Techniques & Strategies to Overcome Summary Judgment, National Employment Lawyers Association Summary Judgment Seminar, October 2023, Speaker
  • Classification of Collegiate Athletes as Employees, Florida National Employment Lawyers Association Annual Conference, August 2023, Speaker
  • Employment Law in the Education Setting, Hillsborough County Bar Association, June 2023, Speaker
  • Collegiate Athletes as Employees: A Response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Cummings, American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section, Washington, D.C., November 2022, Speaker
  • Leave Under Title IX and the Affordable Care Act, National Employment Lawyers Association, San Francisco, California, July 2022, Speaker
  • Damages Under Spending Clause Legislation Post Cummings, Florida Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, St. Augustine, Florida, August 2022, Speaker

Honors

  • Florida Super Lawyers® in Education, Thomson Reuters, 2023
  • Florida Bar Diversity Grant Recipient, Michael R.N. McDonnell (f/k/a Thomas S. Biggs) American Inn of Court, 2013
  • LULAC Scholarship Recipient, University of California at Berkeley
  • Christermon Foundation Scholarship Recipient, University of California at Berkeley
  • Deans Certificate of Achievement ADR; International Law – University of Miami School of Law
  • IOTA Summer Public Interest Fellow, University of Miami School of Law
  • 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment and Civil Rights Lawyers, LawDragon, 2023

Industry Groups

  • Title IX

Office location for Adria Lynn Silva

601 West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
Tampa, FL 33603

Phone: 813-922-0634

Selections

4 Years Super Lawyers
1 Year Rising Stars
  • Super Lawyers: 2023 - 2026
  • Rising Stars: 2012

Attorney resources for Adria Lynn Silva

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