Serena Southerlyn

From The Law & Order Wiki

Serena Southerlyn
Title Assistant District Attorney
Affiliation Manhattan District Attorney's Office
Current status Fired by DA Branch
First Appearance L&O: "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
Last Appearance L&O: "Ain't No Love"
Played by Elisabeth Röhm

Serena Southerlyn was an Assistant District Attorney on Law & Order. Southerlyn joined the District Attorney's office in 2001 as an ADA, replacing Abbie Carmichael. She worked under Nora Lewin and Arthur Branch and Jack McCoy.

She often disagreed and fought with McCoy over their trial strategies in cases where she saw the defendant's crime as a byproduct of social circumstances, such as homelessness or racism. She had an especially antagonistic relationship with Branch, a conservative who replaced Lewin as District Attorney in 2002.

Branch dismissed Southerlyn because he felt that she was too sympathetic to the defendants. In her final episode she is revealed to be a lesbian. (L&O:"Ain't No Love") This self-outing is generally believed by critics and viewers alike to have been poorly handled in terms of both story continuity and character development.

She is the longest serving ADA so far in the history of the series.