Defending the Law Firm When a Lawyer’s Burnout Disclosure Becomes an ADA Accommodation and Retaliation Claim

Adria Lynn Silva, Attorney | Sass Law Firm

Ms. Silva is an attorney at Sass Law Firm with over 25 years of experience in labor and employment law matters, representing employees suffering discrimination and harassment based on age, disability, family status, gender/sex, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, and sexual orientation. She has extensive experience representing students and employees in Title IX claims against high schools, vocational schools, and universities, regarding a variety of issues including claims of pregnancy discrimination, access to athletics, equal pay, harassment, and retaliation.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Silva graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Miami School of Law. Ms. Silva is licensed to practice in the United States Supreme Court, the State of Florida, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

• Recognition & Leadership

She currently serves as a Board Member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and is the NELA Vice President of Affiliate Relations. In 2025, Ms. Silva was elected to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is serving on the Executive Council of the Florida Bar Labor and Employment Section. Ms. Silva previously served on the executive board of the Florida Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association (Florida NELA) for seven years and served as the President in 2009-2010. Ms. Silva was the 2012-2013 President of the Thomas S. Biggs American Inn of Court (now Michael R. N. McDonnell American Inn of Court) and is currently serving on the Inn executive board.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Silva often speaks on various topics in employment and Title IX law and contributed to a book, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act: A Guide for the Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyer, on pregnancy discrimination regarding Title IX and pregnancy.

• Experience

In addition to her employment and Title IX practice, Ms. Silva has represented homeowners and tenants under the Fair Housing Act and customers and patrons in cases of discrimination in places of public accommodation.

Before joining Sass Law Firm, Ms. Silva spent years in her own private practice representing students and employees in discrimination, retaliation and harassment cases. She began her legal career with Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc. in Immokalee, Florida, representing migrant farmworkers in employment discrimination cases and cases brought under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Most recently, she worked at another employee rights law firm for two years. She is bilingual in English and Spanish, and Ms. Silva has dedicated her career to advocating for individuals affected by discrimination, harassment or retaliation.

SESSION 1 – Accommodating a Burned-Out Lawyer Without Creating the Adverse Action: Counseling the Law Firm | Adria Lynn Silva | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

When a lawyer discloses burnout or anxiety, often with a trial weeks away, a firm must make coverage, notice, and essential-function calls quickly. This session covers whether the lawyer is an employee or an owner under Clackamas and Lemon, how partners count toward the 15-employee threshold, and when “burnout” becomes a disability disclosure after Way. It addresses whether billables, trial availability, and client responsiveness are essential functions, how to reduce a caseload without creating an adverse reassignment after Muldrow, Herkert, and Scheer, and how to handle medical information and leave in a firm without a human resources department. Attendees leave with a decision tree and an annotated reduced-caseload agreement.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm 

SESSION 2 – Defending the Law Firm Against a Lawyer’s Disability Charge, From Position Statement to Settlement | Adria Lynn Silva | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This session follows a lawyer’s disability charge against a firm from the first notice through settlement, built on the Brosy and Doe filings and the Way and Herkert retaliation holdings. It covers choosing the forum and building the defense claim by claim, preserving the records plaintiff’s counsel reads first, and drafting the position statement when partners are the witnesses. It addresses retaliation risk from timing, reassignment, and a reference freeze, and how notice, awareness, and consent-to-settle provisions shape an EPLI tender. The session closes with settlement terms a law firm can actually enforce. Attendees leave with a preservation and insurance-tender checklist and an annotated position statement outline.