Francisco J. Silva is the General Counsel and Senior Vice President of the Califormia Medical Association's Centers for Legal Affairs, Economic Services, and Health Policy. Mr. Silva spearheads CMA’s litigation, legal and regulatory advocacy efforts, public policy analysis, and supports CMA’s political and lobbying operations. Francisco has sought to ensure that patients have access to quality health care and is a leading voice for physicians in the development and implementation health care laws and policies that protect the physician patient relationship.
As General Counsel, Mr. Silva provides legal advice and representation to CMA’s Board of Trustees, CMA’s subsidiaries (i.e., CMA Foundation, CMA’s Political Action Committees, CMA Properties, CMA Holdings LLC) and the executive management team regarding corporate governance, ethics, employment, health care law, legislation, regulations and corporate issues (among others). Mr. Silva manages the Legal Center’s efforts to help members comply with laws and regulations that impact the practice of medicine through legal information and publications, as well as educational webinars and presentations.
Mr. Silva was an Associate Director for Government Relations for CMA. Prior to joining CMA, Mr. Silva was the Vice President and Counsel for Government Affairs for the California Apartment Association and a litigation attorney at Heller Ehrman LLP in San Francisco and at the office of Downey Brand LLP in Sacramento. As a litigation attorney, he defended and prosecuted civil litigation matters, including matters involving corporate, contract, antitrust and unfair competition law.
Mr. Silva is a graduate of Santa Clara University and UCLA School of Law. He was in the inaugural class of the law school’s David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy and served as an articles editor on the UCLA Chicano/a Latino/a Law Review. Mr. Silva served as law clerk to the Hon. Jeremy Fogel of the U.S. District Court in San Jose. As a fellow in the Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program Mr. Silva served as a budget consultant for the California Assembly Budget Committee. Mr. Silva serves on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, California Health Information Partnership & Services Organization (Cal-HIPSO), and the Gil Basketball Academy.
CMA Center for Legal Affairs
CMA's Centers for Legal Affairs, Economic Services and Health Policy are overseen by CMA General Counsel and Senior Vice President Francisco J. Silva, Esq. Center for Legal Affairs CMA’s Center for Legal Affairs provides legal advice and representation to CMA Board of Trustees, officers, executive management, and staff, all in their official capacities, on various issues impacting CMA and its subsidiaries, including legislative and regulatory issues, corporate governance, ethics, employment, health care, nonprofit and political law. The Center also defends the rights of physicians in the courts by filing lawsuits on behalf of California physicians members and weighing in on cases before the courts as amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” to influence health policy. The Center helps CMA members comply with laws and regulations that impact the practice of medicine, through legal information and publications, as well as educational webinars and presentations. The Center maintains CMA’s comprehensive online health law library.