Commissioner Silberman with Chief Justice California Supreme Court, Ronald M. George, and other Superior Court Judges.

Silberman spent much of his legal career before taking the bench as a public interest lawyer.  He served as the first staff attorney at AIDS Project Los Angeles, and subsequently as an attorney for Neighborhood Legal Services.  In both positions, Silberman provided legal services for indigent clients, many of whom had experienced domestic violence.  He also worked in private practice and taught family law at USC. A native of New York, Silberman earned his undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University and his Juris Doctor from USC Law School.  He is admitted to the bar in California and speaks Spanish.

“I started my career in law to make a difference in people’s lives,”

“in all cases, my priority has always been – and will continue to be – to protect the children involved in these situations.”

HARVEY SILBERMAN'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE AREA OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (DV) FOR THE UNDER-SERVED (MINORITIES) COMMUNITIES PRIOR TO BECOMING A COMMISSIONER

• Harvey speaks Spanish and is able to communicate directly with the Spanish speaking community.
  
• Travel to domestic violence shelters in San Gabriel Valley and San Fernando Valley to interview victims of DV, many of then from the Asian and Hispanic communities.
• Met with victims of DV and assessed legal remedies available  to them.
• Represented DV victims at hearings, and eliminate language barriers through interpreters.
• Provided comprehensive information on the judicial process to victims of DV.
• Served an overwhelming majority of non-English, monolingual Chinese and Spanish-speaking victims of DV in Pomona, Rio Hondo and Citrus court area.
• Brought awareness and sensitivity to the significant language and cultural barriers that make it difficult for DV victims and battered immigrants to access legal services.
• A third of the Asian-Pacific-Islander residents in Los Angeles County - 1.5 million people - live in San Gabriel Valley, where there are large numbers of DV victims that are monolingual in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese). Harvey Silberman collaborated with Asian-speaking advocates to serve this immigrant community.
• Extensive collaboration in community outreach and legal education to the monolingual, underserved communities in San Gabriel Valley.
• Harvey participated in a program to assist immigrant victims of DV to petition for legal residence through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in both the Asian and Latino communities.