Aaron D. Silva is a senior counsel with Olson Remcho in the firm’s general counsel practice group. He advises clients on political and government law matters, including election law, ballot measures, legislative drafting, and state constitutional issues.
Previously, Mr. Silva served as an attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Drug Enforcement Administration within the United States Department of Justice. At the DEA, he worked on a wide variety of regulatory matters pertaining to the administration of the federal Controlled Substances Act, including scheduling of controlled substances, regulation of cannabis derivatives, registration and reporting mandates, requirements for providing opioid use disorder treatment, religious exemptions under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and rulemaking procedures under the federal Administrative Procedure Act.
Mr. Silva also previously served for 16 years with California’s Office of Legislative Counsel, including six years as the Chief Deputy of that agency’s Legal Division, heading the department that provides legal services to the California State Legislature. In that position, he drafted legislation and prepared legal opinions in all areas of state law, including elections and redistricting, campaign finance reform, open meetings, and public records. He also advised elected officials on ethics and conflict-of-interest matters, as well as overseeing litigation related to the State Legislature.
Before his time advising the Legislature, Mr. Silva worked as a staff attorney with the United States District Court for the Central District of California, handling matters related to federal habeas corpus petitions, immigration, and civil rights. He also previously served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Howard McKibben in the District of Nevada and to United States Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefsky in the Central District of California.
Mr. Silva received his J.D. from the School of Law at the University of California Berkeley, where he was a member of the California Law Review. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California Irvine in the School of Social Ecology, concentrating in the areas of criminal justice, criminology, and legal studies.