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A NOTE TO READERS. This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. Silva Legal did not pay for, request, or review this article prior to publication, and placement on Awesome Attorneys’ editorial pages cannot be purchased. Nothing in this article is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future case.
At a Glance
| Firm | Silva Legal |
| Attorney | Margarita Silva |
| Office | Phoenix, AZ |
| Focus | Family-based immigration, deportation defense, and criminal defense in federal, state, and municipal courts |
| Education | J.D., Arizona State University (1995); B.S. Public Administration, University of Arizona (1992) |
| Admitted | Arizona (1995); U.S. District Court, District of Arizona (1996); Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2014) |
Sources: Avvo, Lawyers.com, firm website, State Bar of Arizona records. Compiled August 2026.
Origin
From Maricopa County Public Defender to Independent Immigration Practice
Margarita Silva has practiced in Arizona since 1995, beginning her career as an assistant public defender in Maricopa County — courtroom experience she now applies to a practice that regularly sits at the intersection of immigration and criminal law. For years she practiced alongside Magaly Fontes as Silva & Fontes; the two attorneys have since established two independent firms, and Silva now practices as Silva Legal.
Practice
Immigration and Criminal Defense, Together
Silva’s practice centers on family-based and employment-based immigration — helping families obtain lawful status, defending against deportation, and handling naturalization and citizenship matters — alongside criminal defense in federal, state, and municipal courts. That dual focus reflects a real structural feature of immigration law: a criminal charge, even a minor one, can carry immigration consequences that a general practice attorney might miss.
Track Record
Immigration and criminal case outcomes are governed by confidentiality and court record limitations that make a public, itemized results table impractical, and no such compilation was located in the sources reviewed for this profile.
Past-Results Disclaimer: Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
One Avvo reviewer wrote: “Margarita helped me with my case 3 years ago! She did it pro bono! I got my work permit in a couple of months. She was very professional and made me feel welcome.” Silva’s aggregate Avvo rating sits at 3.7 out of 5 based on a small number of reviews; this profile reports that figure honestly rather than citing only the positive review in isolation.
Community
Silva serves as a judge pro tempore in the Guadalupe Municipal Court, is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. She is a past president of Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association (2006) and has represented the Arizona State Bar in the ABA House of Delegates.
Recognition
Silva is the immediate past co-chair of the State Bar of Arizona’s Immigration Section Executive Council and a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). No Arizona board certification applies to immigration law, since the State Bar of Arizona does not currently offer a certified specialty in that field, so this profile does not use the word “specialist” to describe her.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Immigration law is exclusively federal, governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act and adjudicated in federal immigration courts rather than Arizona state courts. A criminal conviction in Arizona — even a low-level misdemeanor in some cases — can trigger immigration consequences including mandatory detention or deportation, independent of the sentence imposed by the state court, which is why immigration attorneys who also understand Arizona criminal law fill a specific gap.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Margarita Silva’s differentiator is 30 years of practice built specifically around the overlap of immigration and criminal defense, backed by leadership roles in both the State Bar’s immigration section and a leading Arizona immigrant-rights nonprofit. The honest trade-off, visible directly in her own review record: not every client experience has been reported as uniformly positive, and prospective clients should have a direct conversation about scope, timeline, and fees before engaging, as with any attorney.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from Avvo, Lawyers.com, the firm’s own website, and State Bar of Arizona records. Silva Legal did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.