Phone

(949) 592-0165

Email

info@civicalaw.com

Mailing Address

4000 Barranca Parkway
Suite 250 PMB #782
Irvine, CA 92604

Matthew R. Silver, Managing Partner

Matthew R. Silver, Founder, Civica Law

About Matthew R. Silver

Matthew R. Silver is the managing partner at Civica Law Group, APC, a law firm focused on civic-oriented legal services. Mr. Silver has a unique expertise in litigation and transactional work in code enforcement, substandard housing, land use and planning, permits and entitlements, building and safety, police services, nuisance abatement and receiverships. Mr. Silver’s extensive experience with local and state government agencies provides unique and invaluable insights into governmental processes that benefit clients.

Civica Law Group, APC

Mailing Address
4000 Barranca Parkway
Suite 250 PMB #782
Irvine, CA 92604

(949) 592-0165

msilver@civicalaw.com

  • Code Enforcement
  • Municipal Litigation
  • Nuisance Abatement
  • Substandard Housing
  • Multi-family housing
  • Receiverships
  • Land use, Planning & Zoning
  • Permits & Entitlements
  • Drone Law

Degrees, Certifications, and Relevant Experience

  • Juris Doctor, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
  • B.A. in English, University of California – Irvine
  • Certified Code Enforcement Officer, CACEO

Court Admissions

  • State Bar of California
  • United States District Court for the Central, Southern, Northern, and Eastern Districts of California

Awards

  • Heroism—United States House of Representatives, California State Senate, California State Assembly, Orange County Board of Supervisors, City of Huntington Beach, Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce

Organizations

  • California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (Board of Directors)
  • Urban Land Institute
  • Orange County Bar Association

Publications

  • SB 296 – State Law on Code Enforcement Officer Safety
  • SB 1465 – State Law on Code Enforcement for Substandard, Non-Residential Buildings
  • How Does CARE Court, California’s New Legal Approach to Behavioral Health Care, Work?, WESTERN CITY MAGAZINE, January 2024
  • Public Entity Receiverships of Blighted and Foreclosed Properties, 35 PUB. L.J. 21, no. 4, Fall 2012 at 21
  • New California Law Strengthens Municipal Powers to Fight Blight On Foreclosed Homes, THE PUBLIC RECORD, Sept. 18, 2012, at 15
  • How Cities Can Maximize Existing Powers and Recover Their Costs to Fight Crime, WESTERN CITY MAGAZINE, October, 2012
  • Code Enforcement, CALIFORNIA MUNICIPAL LAW HANDBOOK (contributor)
  • Don’t fly by these rules when developing a city drone program, WESTERN CITY MAGAZINE, October, 2023

More About Matthew R. Silver

Matthew R. Silver has extensive experience in the courtroom in both civil and criminal litigation, having handled thousands of cases from inception to resolution, including through trial, writs and appeals in both State and Federal courts. Several cases have led to published case law, including in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Silver’s experience as an Assistant City Attorney and City Prosecutor, and his service as legal advisor to Code Enforcement, Planning, Building & Safety and Public Safety departments all over California provides unique and invaluable insights into governmental processes that benefits his clients.

Mr. Silver’s experience includes receiverships over substandard and blighted properties, civil litigation involving individuals and corporations who violate municipal codes and certain state laws, nuisance abatement, enforcement of the State Housing Laws, land use and planning, entitlements, permit check and other permit related advisory and litigation work, administrative appeals and proceedings, red light and drug abatements, gang abatement, illicit massage establishments, administrative abatement and CUP revocation hearings, defending appeals of administrative decisions in court, and working with clients to develop efficient and effective systems for enforcing their municipal codes, as well as assisting clients in processing permits and entitlements through certificates of occupancy.

Mr. Silver volunteers his time to an array of code enforcement and public service-related organizations and events, including serving for over a decade as a volunteer on the executive board for the California predominant code enforcement organization, serving as an appointed member on a Senate working group, serving with the Urban Land Institute, and working with local homeless shelters and pro bono legal work. Mr. Silver is a frequent speaker and teacher on code enforcement, planning, building and municipal litigation-related topics, and has served as lecturer at local colleges on these subjects. His articles have been featured in several publications, and he frequently is a guest on podcasts in these areas.

In 2000, Mr. Silver was honored to receive several awards for heroism stemming from an incident in which he pulled a person out of a sinking car that had crashed into a lake. He is a strong believer in the positive effect local government can on people’s lives, and the rights of people to live in safe and healthy communities.

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Matthew R. Silver Cases