Ed Silva is a graduate of Boston College (B.S.B.A.; 1965) and Nashville School of Law (J.D.; 1974). He completed the United States Naval Officers Candidate School and served in the U.S. Navy attaining the rank of Lieutenant (1965-1969). He is a Vietnam War Veteran.

Mr. Silva is a founding member of the law firm of Hartzog & Silva, PLC located in Franklin, Tennessee where his main practice areas are concentrated in family law, personal injury and mediation. He has been a trial attorney for over 42 years and is a certified civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (1995). Mr. Silva is certified in civil pre-trial practice advocacy (2012). He is a Rule 31 listed civil mediator by the Tennessee Supreme Court and serves as a Chairman of the Tennessee Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission 2016.

Mr. Silva is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, Williamson Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He is a past president of the Williamson County Bar Association and was elected a Fellow in the Tennessee Bar Foundation. He is a Master of the John Marshall Inns of Court and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Mid-South Super Lawyers for his family law practice. Mr. Silva has enjoyed the highest Peer Review Rating for thirty years, "AV," by the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings. A Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating attests to a lawyer’s legal ability and professional ethics, and reflects the confidential opinions of the Bar and the Judiciary. Mr. Silva was named "Lawyer of the Year 2010 & 2017" by Best Lawyers for family law in the greater Nashville area.

Mr. Silva is married to Suzanne, a published writer and homemaker, and has two grown children, Alexandra and Anthony. He has two grandchildren.

Mr. Silva is past president of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County and the Carnton Plantation Board of Directors. He is past Chairman of the Franklin Gateway Corridors and Connector Streets Economic Development Project Committee. He was selected Franklin’s Citizen of the Year in 1986 by the Franklin Lion’s Club and Patron of the Year in 1998 by the Heritage Foundation. He was a founding director of Franklin National Bank and a member of the Board of Directors of its successor, The Fifth Third Bank of Tennessee (1989 – 2011).