Professor Silecchia is a native of Queens, New York. She received her B.A. degree summa cum laude from Queens College (C.U.N.Y.) in 1987 and her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990, where she was a senior editor of the Yale Law Review, a current topics editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review, and a Francis Coker teaching fellow. Following her graduation from law school, she practiced law in the litigation department of Rogers & Wells (now Clifford, Chance) in New York City.

In 1991, Professor Silecchia joined the Columbus School of Law as the assistant director of the Lawyering Skills Program. After two years with the Lawyering Skills Program, she became an assistant professor in 1993 and an associate professor in 1997. She has been an ordinary professor since 2004, and served as the law school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 2004 and 2005. She teaches or has taught Environmental Law, Property, Trusts and Estates, Corporations, Advanced Legal Research and Writing, Comparative Property, Environmental Crimes, Lawyering Skills, and Law Journal Writing. During her 2000-2001 sabbatical, she spent the fall semester as a Visiting Scholar at Yale Law School and the spring term in Rome conducting research on environmental ethics issues from the perspective of Catholic social thought.

She has written in the areas of environmental law and enforcement, legal education, Catholic social thought, legal writing, law and literature, and social justice. Professor Silecchia has given presentations at national conferences for legal educators, law librarians, lawyers, religious groups, students, and environmental professionals. She has also advised the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace and the Environmental Justice Project of the U.S. Catholic Conference, assisted the American Bar Association's CEELI Project in critiquing draft business association laws for Estonia, and taught in Catholic University's cooperative programs at Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland. Her other "extracurricular" activities include membership in the Environmental Law Institute, the Association of Legal Writing Directors, the National Italian-American Bar Association, the Legal Writing Institute, The John Carroll Society, and the Bar Associations of New York State and the District of Columbia. She was also named one of three national "Persons of Distinction" by the Association of Legal Writing Directors and was Catholic University's "Mirror of Justice Scholar" in 1996. She has also been a member of the teaching faculty for the international law students in the Washington D.C.-based Institute for United States Law.

Professor Silecchia is admitted to the bars of New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Lucia A. Silecchia, Skill Development, in Learning from Practice: A Professional Development Text for Legal Externs, Eagan, Minn., West Group, 1998.

Lucia A. Silecchia, Management Skills, in Learning from Practice: A Professional Development Text for Legal Externs, Eagan, Minn., West Group, 1998.

Lucia A. Silecchia, Catholic Social Teaching and Its Impact on American Law: Observations on the Past and Reflections on the Future, Villanova J. of Catholic Social Thought, 277-312 (2004).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Environmental Ethics from the Perspective of NEPA and Catholic Social Teaching: Ecological Guidance for the 21st Century, 28 William & Mary Envtl. L. & Pol’y Rev., 659-798 (2004).

Lucia A. Silecchia, The Catalyst Calamity: Post-Buckhannon Fee-Shifting in Environmental Litigation and a Proposal for Congressional Action, 29 Columbia J. Envtl. L., 1-87 (2003).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Things Are Seldom What They Seem: Judges and Lawyers in the Tales of Mark Twain, 35 Conn. L. Rev. 559-646 (2002).

Lucia A. Silecchia, When Do Claims Challenging a Statute's Effect on Pre-Existing Contracts Accrue?, Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases (April 2002).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Reflections on the Future of Social Justice, 23 Seattle University Law Review 1121-1154 (2000).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Integrating Spiritual Perspectives With the Law School Experience: An Essay and an Invitation, 37 San Diego Law Review 167-209 (2000).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Raising the Bar in Law School, Legal Times (Sept. 1999): S29.

Lucia A. Silecchia, Pinning the Blame & Piercing the Veil in the Mists of Metaphor: The Supreme Court's New Standards for the CERCLA Liability of Parent Corporations and a Proposal for Legislative Reform, 67 Fordham Law Review 115-202 (1998).

Lucia A. Silecchia, On Doing Justice and Walking Humbly with God: Catholic Social Thought on Law as a Tool for Achieving Justice, 46 Catholic University Law Review 1163-1187 (Summer 1997).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Of Painters, Sculptors, Quill Pens and Microscopes: Teaching Legal Writers in the Electronic Age, 75 Nebraska Law Review 801-846 (1997).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Challenges for Environmental Professionals in a Climate of Increased Criminal Enforcement of Environmental Violations, Practical Environmental Directions: 55 A Changing Agenda 1996.

Lucia A. Silecchia, Square Pegs and Round Holes: Does the Sentencing of Corporate Citizens for Environmental Crimes Fit Within Guidelines? Federal Sent. Report 8 (1996): 230 (with Michael Malinowski).

Lucia A. Silecchia, A Time to Put Things Together and ... A Times to Question Strategies of Environmental Law in the Mid '90's. Rapporto Mondiale Sul Diritto Dell' Ambiente 659 (1996) (with Joseph DiMento).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Legal Skills Training in the First Year of Law School: Research? Writing? Analysis? Or More? 100 Dickinson Law Review 245-301 (Winter 1996).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Judicial Review of CERCLA Cleanup Procedures: Striking a Balance to Prevent Irreparable Harm, 20 Harvard Environmental Law Review 339-397 (1996) (lead article).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Ounces of Prevention and Pounds of Cure: Developing Sound Policies for Environmental Compliance Programs, 7 Fordham Environmental Law Journal 583-634 (1996).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Designing and Teaching Advanced Legal Research and Writing Courses, 33 Duquesne Law Review 245-301 (1996).

Lucia A. Silecchia, New York Attorney Malpractice Liability to Non-Clients: Toward a Rule of Reason and Predictability, 15 Pace Law Review 391-457 (1995).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Regulation and Certification of Environmental Professionals, Journal of Environmental Law & Practice 2 (November/December 1994): 38.

Lucia A. Silecchia, Congress Seeks to Certify Environmental Professionals, Environment Update (October 1994): 3.

Lucia A. Silecchia, The Environmental Professionals Training and Certification Act: A Critique, NAEP News (May/June 1994): 5.

Lucia A. Silecchia, Comments Submitted to The Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace: Response to the Chairman's Paper for the Second Preparatory Committee for The World Summit on Sustainable Development (March 14, 2002).

Lucia A. Silecchia, The Environmental Agenda of the 104th Congress: A Legislative Analysis Submitted to the United States Catholic Conference (February 20, 1996).

Lucia A. Silecchia, Comments: Draft Forms of Business Enterprises Law for Estonia (March 25, 1995).