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Alena is Senior Counsel in Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley’s litigation practice group. Alena has been a litigator since 2001, and has focused on public law since 2005. Alena served as Deputy City Attorney for the Cities of San Marcos and Lemon Grove, and has represented various cities throughout San Diego County, including Vista, Chula Vista, Carlsbad, Escondido, National City, and Oceanside.
Her litigation experience includes election issues, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), land use, cannabis enforcement and permitting, and contract and real property disputes. Her published appellate decisions include Moore v. City of Lemon Grove (2015) 237 Cal. App. 4th 363 (upholding sewer rates under Proposition 218). She obtained a favorable result for many agencies in The Affordable Housing Coalition of San Diego v. Drager, et al., August 25, 2020 No. C083811 (Post Redevelopment Enforceable Obligations). Alena has participated as Amicus Counsel in various cases, including Cal Fire Local 2881 v. California Public Employees’ Retirement System (2019) 6 Cal.5th 965, on behalf of the City of Pacific Grove.
Alena served on the City of Chula Vista’s Campaign Contribution Enforcement Authority from 2018 through 2022 and has provided election law advice to various cities including Imperial Beach and National City.
Alena has argued before various divisions of the California Court of Appeal as well as the California Supreme Court. She is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the 9th Circuit as well as the District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California. She has also appeared before the Southern District of California Bankruptcy Court to enforce a public entity’s ability to enforce its ordinances.
Alena was a Reviewer for the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021 Editions of the California Municipal Law Handbook and will be a reviewer for the upcoming 2022 Edition. She was a presenter at the City Attorneys Association of San Diego’s spring conference in March 2016, on the topic of “Election Law, The Power of the People: Recall of Local Officers” and co-authored the materials for the “2019 CEQA Update: Guidelines and Court Opinions” presentation for the 2019 spring conference. Alena has also published articles pertaining to California Civil Procedure including, “New Rules on Demurring and Conferring in 2016″ (San Diego Attorney Journal and Orange County Attorney Journal, May 2016). She also organized, co-authored, and served as moderator and presenter, for the San Diego County Bar Association’s, September 2019 Friday Fundamentals program, “Land Use Cases: ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ From the Bench and Bar” panel with Justice William Dato, Judge Robert Dahlquist and Jeffrey Chine. In 2020 and 2021 she co-authored materials and presented before the San Diego Appellate Inn of Court on the various topics, including stays and writs of supersedeas.
Alena holds a B.A. in International Business from San Diego State University. She received her J.D. from University of San Diego School of Law. She is fluent in Russian and speaks Spanish.
She is an active member of the San Diego Appellate Inn of Court. She is also a member of the California Lawyers Association’s Public Law Section, the Lawyers Club of San Diego, and the Litigation, Environmental, Government, and Appellate Law Sections of the San Diego County Bar Association.
Practice Areas:
- Appellate Representation
- Administrative and Traditional Writs
- Constitutional Issues
- Cannabis Taxation and Regulation
- Complex Litigation
- Public Finance Law
- Post-Redevelopment
- California Public Records Act
- Land Use / CEQA / Inverse Condemnation
- Election Law
Significant Appellate Representations