Serena Cheng

Associate

Serena is an associate in the Chicago office.

Serena Cheng Portrait

Serena focuses her practice on estate planning and estate administration matters. She regularly employs techniques such as spousal lifetime access trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and intentionally defective grantor trusts in order to allow families to transfer assets in a tax-efficient manner. She also advises families on estate and trust administration, with a particular focus on federal and state estate tax issues. Licensed in both Illinois and Florida, she regularly counsels clients on the impacts of changing residency.

Previous Work

Prior to joining ArentFox Schiff, Serena served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Matthew F. Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She also externed at the Illinois Innocence Project, where she researched post‑conviction petitions and innocence claims.

During law school, Serena worked as a 711-licensed student attorney for the Immigration Law Clinic and the Intellectual Property Clinic. Serena first joined ArentFox Schiff as a summer associate in 2023.

Recognitions

  • Emerging Leader, Chicago Estate Planning Council (2025–2027)
  • Languages
    Mandarin Chinese
    Taiwanese
  • Bar & Court Admissions
    • Illinois Bar
    • Florida Bar
  • Education
    University of Illinois College of Law, JD, cum laude, with pro bono notation, 2024
    University of Cambridge, MPhil, 2018
    Cornell University, BFA, 2017