Biography
Serena was born in Memphis but has lived in Houston most of her life. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Houston and her law degree from South Texas College of Law. She has two boys with her husband, Evan, a Plainview native. Serena joined Singleton Cooksey in 1992, working principally as a litigator and appellate lawyer. After leaving in 2001 to become a full-time stay-at-home mom, she returned to the firm in 2007, as a transactional real estate attorney with an emphasis on title and survey review, title curative work, buyer and seller due diligence, including for multifamily purchase and sale transactions. Serena’s practice has also included risk assessments, communications tower-related easements and leases, acquisitions of communications towers, individually and as part of a portfolio, and commercial leasing. In addition to her legal practice, Serena served as a volunteer in various capacities at her children’s elementary, middle and high schools over the years, at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, with BSA Troop 30, the West Point Parents’ Club of Greater Houston and the Texas Tech Parents’ Association.
Education
- South Texas College of Law – J.D., cum laude, 1990
– South Texas Law Review, Asst. Editor
– Order of the Lytae
– Texas Trial Lawyers Association Law Review Writing Award (1988)
– Corpus Juris Secundum Award (Scholastic Excellence in Constitutional Law, Federal Procedure, and Texas Post-Trial and Appellate Procedure) - The University of Houston – B.S., 1987
Publications
- Author, The Eleventh Amendment Should Not Protect States from Liability Suits in Federal Court Under CERCLA and SARA, 20 State Bar of Texas Environmental Law Section Law Journal 74 (1990)
Memberships and Affiliations
- State Bar of Texas, Member
Admissions
- State Bar of Texas (1990)
- United States District Court: Southern District of Texas
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Community Involvement
- West Point Parents’ Club of Greater Houston (Volunteer and 2021 Co-Chair of the Texas Tamale Tailgate at West Point)