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 www.employmentlawtampa.com.
