Alena Chaban grew up in Florida and chose to plant her roots in Central Florida, not because it was convenient, but because it became home.

After earning her Bachelor's degree in Legal Studies from the University of Central Florida, Alena attended Barry University School of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude. She served as Editor-in-Chief of Law Review, competed in multiple moot court competitions focused on constitutional law, and completed the Collaborative Family Law Clinic. Hands-on preparation for the work she would spend her career doing.

Upon being admitted to the Florida Bar, Alena and her husband — also an attorney — founded their own law firm in Seminole County in 2020. They chose to build something here. Their practice focuses primarily on family law: parental rights, divorce, custody disputes, and the sensitive, high-stakes cases that shape families' futures. This is not background experience. It is direct preparation for the bench.

Family law is litigated in Florida's circuit courts, the jurisdiction above county court, handling more complex matters with higher stakes. Alena has spent five years in that courtroom, alongside parents fighting for their children and families navigating some of the hardest moments of their lives. County court handles a different docket, but the people walking through that door are often the same. A single mother whose license is on the line. Someone who made a mistake and is being judged on the worst day of their life. A small business owner trying to recover what they are owed. Alena's years in circuit court taught her how to read a room, treat every person with dignity, and make decisions that hold up. Those skills do not change with the docket.

Alena has also volunteered as a Guardian ad Litem, advocating for children in the court system who have no voice of their own. It is the kind of work that reminds you why the law matters, and what it costs when a judge is not paying attention.

Her family's roots in Seminole County run deep. Her father-in-law has served the community as a prominent pediatrician for decades, caring for the county's children long before Alena arrived. Now she and her husband are raising their own family here: a five-year-old, a three-year-old, and a newborn on the way. This is not a temporary address. This is home.

Alena believes the bench should reflect the community it serves: calm in difficult moments, committed to doing the work, and consistent in applying the law with fairness and respect for every person who enters the courtroom.