Allison Aquino-Silva was born in the Philippines and immigrated with her family to Los Angeles when she was three years old.  Raised in the San Gabriel valley, she graduated as Valedictorian from San Gabriel Mission High School.  She then went on to the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Ecology, specializing in Crime, Law, and Society, and a minor in Business Management in just three years.  While attending UC Irvine, Atty. Aquino-Silva gained practical experience through her employment with the Law Offices of Russell J. Thomas, Jr., where she assisted in cases primarily involving labor law issues.  Atty. Aquino-Silva also interned as a law clerk at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, where she dealt with various issues related to the indigent community.

 

Immediately after graduating from UC Irvine, Atty. Aquino-Silva pursued her law degree at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.  Atty. Aquino-Silva was a member of the Phi Delta Honor Society, as well as a Staff Member and Editor of the Loyola Law Review.  While pursuing her legal studies, she worked as a legal research aide for Westlaw Corporation and as a legal intern for the Special Enforcement Unit of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.  Atty. Aquino-Silva also attended the Dickinson School of Law in Florence, Italy, studying courses in international law and comparative civil and criminal law. 

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Upon her admission to the California State Bar in 1996, Atty. Aquino-Silva joined forces with her father, Atty. Paul Aquino, as a partner in the Aquino & Aquino law firm.  In 2001, Atty. Aquino-Silva obtained certification from the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization, as an Immigration & Nationality Law Specialist, a prestigious recognition currently held by only approximately 210 attorneys throughout the state of California.  At that time, Atty. Aquino-Silva was the only board certified specialist in the State of California under the age of thirty, and believed to be the first Filipino to become a board certified specialist in immigration law in California.  

Atty. Aquino-Silva authors an immigration law column in several publications and appears regularly as an immigration expert on the television program Kababayan Today.  Atty. Aquino-Silva currently serves as a Member of the Sierra Club’s Central Group Reorganization Committee for the Angeles Chapter.  She previously served as Vice-Chairman of the Filipino American Service Group Inc. (FASGI), as well as being a former President and current Advisory Board Member for the Philippine American Bar Association.  Atty. Aquino-Silva is a Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and former Commissioner for the City of Pasadena.