Effie D. Silva, Esq., FCIArb

Attorney, Arbitrator, Fortune 100 Legal Corporate Executive

Experience: Accomplished arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), with corporate legal executive experience at Fortune 100 public and private global corporations and nearly two decades of private practice experience at top global law firms.  Before going in-house with Tyson Foods, Inc. and later with Cargill, Inc., served as Partner at Duane Morris and McDermott Will & Emery, and as a Senior Attorney at Baker & McKenzie, representing parties in international and domestic arbitration and litigation disputes involving manufacturing, supply chain and distribution agreements, financial services, fraud and corruption, business torts, energy, construction and real property disputes. Board Certified in International Litigation and Arbitration with extensive cross-border experience advising and strategizing multi-jurisdictional disputes across venues, both nationally and internationally, and leading global investigations involving corporate fraud, FCPA and regulatory compliance. Qualified Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA), Conflict Prevention Resolution (CPR), and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

As Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Tyson Foods, Inc. responsible for all legal matters impacting $10B Prepared Foods’ business unit and Sustainability department, including safety and quality assurance and environmental. General-counsel responsibility of legal, business and operational matters, including strategic guidance on contracts and commercial agreements, dispute resolution proceedings, government investigations and regulatory compliance, real estate, intellectual property, employment, governance, marketing and advertising claims, M&A, data privacy/cyberbreach matters, compliance and investigations. As the Group Ethics and Compliance Director for Protein NA and Salt at Cargill, Inc. serve as an independent, objective, and strategic ethics and compliance advisor on behalf of the business groups and as a fiduciary to the audit committee of the board through Cargill Global Ethics & Compliance office. Execute the strategy through influence and leadership support, engaging and educating the broader organization, and exercising direction and oversight of compliance risk and investigations. Accountable for assessing the groups’ compliance risks, setting its priorities and overseeing the integration of compliance risk domains into a cohesive and effective group wide compliance system.

Alternative Dispute Experience  Handle numerous complex commercial and international arbitrations, serving as an arbitrator and party representative counsel before the AAA/ICDR and ICC, as well as before state and federal courts. Representative matters include routinely serving as arbitrator for numerous complex commercial contract disputes for the AAA.  Serving as party representative counsel for a global Spanish construction company in an ICC arbitration against a subcontractor regarding an EPC agreement, and in a related federal court temporary restraining order and temporary injunction in aid of arbitration action. Successfully representing a global Spanish conglomerate in arbitration before the ICC and in related state-court actions in claims arising out of its acquisition of a US-based company and the termination of the target’s senior management. Serving as representative party counsel in a healthcare provider in JAMS arbitration against breach of contract and fraud claims arising out of purchase and sale contract, which also required mandatory mediation. Representing one of the nation’s leading providers of maternal-fetal, newborn and pediatric sub-specialty physician services in a complex executive breach of contract arbitration action governed by ICDR. Negotiated significant settlement of an ICC claim arising out of termination of a Brazilian power generation consulting agreement.

Listed in U.S. News Best Lawyers \\\"The Best Lawyers in America,\\\" Commercial Litigation, 2017-Present; Top 100 Lawyers in Florida, Super Lawyers, 2018; Top 50 Women Lawyers in Florida and Top 100 Lawyers in Miami, Super Lawyers, 2014-2018; AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell; Florida Legal Elite, Florida Trends magazine, 2006-2018; Top Lawyer, South Florida Legal Guide, 2009-2018; Florida Top Rated Lawyer in Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Products Liability, Fortune Magazine ALM Legal Leaders, 2012-2018.

Dispute Resolution Training: CPR, Commercial Arbitration Skills Training, 2018; CPR, Mediation Training Course, 2018; CPR, Cybersecurity in ADR, 2019; FINRA, Disputes Resolution Arbitration Training Course, 2018; AAA, Arbitration Fundamentals and Best Practices for New AAA Arbitrators, 2019; AAA, Award Writing Course 2019; The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Accelerated Route to Fellowship Course (International Arbitration), 2019.

Arbitration Qualifications: Board Certified in International Litigation and Arbitration by the Florida Bar. Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). Qualified Neutral Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA), International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Specialties: Complex Business And Commercial Law, Construction, Energy, Global Data Privacy, Information Governance, Internal Investigations, FCPA, Chain Of Supply Contracts, Consumer Products, Marketing And Advertising, Legal Operations, Risk Mitigation, Anti-Trust/Competition, M&A Deal Transaction Structuring, Divestitures And Acquisitions, Regulatory Investigations And Compliance, Ethics, E-Discovery, Financial And Accounting Fraud, Audits, and Intellectual Property.

Professional Associations: Member of the Florida Bar Board Certification Committee for International Litigation and Arbitration; American Bar Association (ABA), Section of Dispute Resolution, International, Litigation, Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities; Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA); Fellow of the Leadership Counsel in Legal Diversity (LCLD); and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)

Work History: President, Effie D. Silva, P.A., 2017 – Present; Group Ethics and Compliance Director for Protein NA and Salt, Cargill, Inc., 2020 – Present; Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Tyson Foods, Inc., 2018-2019; Partner, Duane Morris LLP, 2017-2018; Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, 2013-2017; Senior Associate, Baker & McKenzie LLP, 2005-2013; Associate, Adorno & Yoss LLP, 2003-2005; Law Clerk, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court, 2002-2003.

Professional Licenses: Admitted to the Bar, Florida and District of Columbia

Education: B.A. Wellesley College, 1996; J.D., University of Florida Levin College of Law, 2001

Languages: English and Spanish