Serena M. Warner

Since joining Angelo, Kilday & Kilduff, LLP in early 2010, Ms. Warner has developed an emphasis in employment defense from pre-litigation through trial. Her recent victories include a 2023 four-week jury trial in Sacramento County on claims of retaliation and race and sex discrimination and a 2021 14-day jury trial in Solano County involving allegations of sexual harassment and disability discrimination. Ms. Warner has also tried employment cases involving age discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, employer consideration of non-conviction criminal charges, and defamation. Although her focus is on employment litigation, Ms. Warner’s practice includes defense of constitutional claims under the First Amendment for alleged free speech and familial association violations, Second Amendment gun control litigation, SLAPP suits, charges of negligent or unconstitutional child removal, excessive force actions, and personal injury cases. Ms. Warner has argued appeals before the Ninth Circuit and California Third District Court of Appeal. In 2023, she was recognized as a Super Lawyer among Northern California attorneys by Super Lawyers.com and as a Rising Star prior to that from 2016-2022. She was named as a 2023 Wonderful Woman Honoree by the Lawyers of Color organization and has been identified as a Top Lawyer in Sacramento Magazine from 2017-2022.

In 2019, Ms. Warner graduated from the TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy. Held annually at the National Judicial College, the Trial Academy allows practicing attorneys to hone their trial skills by competing against other attorneys from around the country.

Ms. Warner is a California-native, raised locally in Elk Grove, CA. She received her bachelor of arts with high honors from the University of California Santa Barbara and graduated law school, cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She is the Immediate Past President of the Sacramento Filipino American Lawyers Association (Sac-FALA), Regional Governor of the National Filipino Lawyers Association, Vice-Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee for the Sacramento County Bar Association, and a member of the Federal Bar Association, National Filipino American Lawyers Association and National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Ms. Warner volunteers her time judging for the annual Sacramento County Gordon D. Schaber Moot Court Competition, a program she previously coached from 2013 to 2020.

Ms. Warner is also the proud mom of a strong-willed, sweet-spirited seven-year old and a hard-charging three-year-old. Although mom-life has monopolized the majority of her time outside of work in the past few years, she finds time to read or take an occasional yoga class. She also hopes to be able to resume her hobby of beer-brewing in the near future.