Silvia concentrates her practice on labor and employment. She defends employers against lawsuits in state and federal court, including disputes involving Title VII, Texas Commission of Human Rights, and other ADEA, race, age, and disability discrimination claims; state and federal trade secrets cases; and noncompete and restrictive covenant disputes. Silvia has experience handling employment litigation throughout a case's lifecycle. She drafts motions for summary judgment and motions to dismiss, sends discovery, prepares and answers discovery dispute motions, confers with opposing counsel, takes plaintiff depositions, and defends witness depositions. She has also participated in settlement discussions and mediations. Silvia represents employers in diverse industries, including grocery, financial services, retail, transportation, health care, hospitality, and energy.
Silvia partners with clients to train their staff and management on a variety of employment law topics to ensure their compliance with state and federal requirements. She recently completed a series of anti-harassment trainings, which she presented in both English and Spanish.
Silvia was also part of a team of attorneys who drafted an amicus brief to the NLRB.
Prior to joining Cozen O'Connor as an associate, she was a labor and employment law clerk with the firm. Silvia served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Judge Christina Bryan, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and for the Honorable Justice Veronica Rivas-Molloy, of the First Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas. She is a member of the Order of Barristers.
Silvia earned her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center, where she was a casenotes and comments editor for the Houston International Law Journal and the chair of the Alternate Dispute Resolution team. She earned her B.A. from the University of Houston. Silvia is fluent in Spanish and a Certified Spanish Legal Interpreter. In her free time, Silvia volunteers for local nonprofit organizations.