Tony Silva's practice focuses on federal administrative law, with an emphasis on immigration law and Social Security disability law. Over the last fifteen years, Tony has represented immigration clients who posses extraordinary abilities in music, art, and entertainment, as well as those in research and academia. His clients have included numerous professional musicians, actors on both stage and screen, writers, directors, and film crews, and professional dancers and acrobats. Tony also regularly works with extraordinary foreign researchers, professors, and others involved in higher education. As a former member of a first-tier national labor and employment law firm, Tony has represented clients whose profiles range from multi-campus higher education systems to individual professors, multi-national corporations to newly formed small businesses, and film production companies to individual actors.

In addition to his practice of immigration law, Tony is highly experienced in all aspects of Social Security disability law. He has successfully represented hundreds of clients before the Social Security Administration's Office of Hearing Operations, the Appeals Council, and in the federal courts, working to overturn disability denials and obtain financial support for those who have been injured or disabled and are unable to work.

Tony graduated with honors from the University of Memphis' Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where he received a Humphreys Law Fellowship and was a member of the editorial board of the University of Memphis Law Review. He is regularly engaged as an author and speaker on immigration topics, conducts continuing legal education seminars on immigration law, and is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Tony is also a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR), the Federal Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the Memphis Bar Association.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Tony was an active classical pianist and music teacher. He completed a doctorate in piano performance from the Scheidt School of Music and coached privately with many renowned classical musicians. Tony continues to mentor gifted young musicians, is frequently engaged as an adjudicator of classical piano competitions, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Memphis Repertory Orchestra.

AREAS OF FOCUS

• Immigration Advocacy Law
• Social Security Disability Law
• Administrative Law

ADMISSIONS

• Tennessee
• United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

EDUCATION

• University of Memphis, Scheidt School of Music, B.M., 2000
• University of Memphis, Scheidt School of Music, M.M., 2003
• University of Memphis, Scheidt School of Music, D.M.A., 2008
• University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, J.D., 2008, Cum Laude