Improbable life story responsible for Law Alumna’s Legal Journey

By Keith Stichtenoth

As she grew, the harsh circumstances created by her ethnicity and environment caused young Marilyn to become gripped by two intertwined feelings. The first, she says, was to rebut the illogic: “I had this very strong and innate sense that I’m not lesser than, but I’m also not more than … which then means that you’re not lesser than, or more than. So that’s how I see everyone. I meet people for who they are. They’re not lesser than, they’re not more than — they’re just who they are, right?”

The second takeaway was a sober recognition that she must leave her unproductive environment in order to flourish. Because she saw college as the key to unlock that door, she enrolled at City College of New York. And because she understood her own affinity for the rigors of complicated and structured thinking, she studied electrical engineering at first before eventually graduating with a degree in computer science. Degree in hand, she followed an exciting career opportunity to Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati as an IT manager (“Wow! You can’t get any more ‘white-collar worker’ than that!” she exclaims, recalling middle school).

This doesn’t suggest the specific sort of gray matter one might expect to find adjudicating appellate cases, but it reflects how Judge Zayas processes information, which she turns to the court’s advantage as few of her peers can. “I break down a lot of my cases into flow charts, which come from my computer days. You get to see the connections of everything, and to see if something is missing.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, she also admits to always being able to handle complexity more easily than simplicity. She calls it her “engineering brain” and illustrates through the old “forest for the trees” analogy. “I’m pretty good at seeing both the forest and the trees, but really I’m about seeing the moss growing under the trees, and recognizing why the moss is on one side of the trees and not the other.”

It’s a good thing she relishes complexity and detail. The First District Court of Appeals receives civil and criminal cases from all trial courts in Hamilton County — domestic relations, foreclosures, contract issues, insurance claims, wills, adoptions, car accidents, murders and more. Anytime a case has been decided by a lower court and someone feels something went wrong, an appeal sends the case to the appellate court (69 judges statewide). When cases reach Judge Zayas, they will be greeted by a dispassionate, fact-driven perspective free of pre-judgment or bias. It’s the very conscious antithesis of the judge’s youthful recollections of East Harlem.

“It’s not about getting caught up in the emotions of the case; it’s about getting caught up in the law,” she says. “I don’t come to a case thinking, ‘This is what the answer should be, or this is the rule of law I would like to create.’ Rather, let me and my team do research — and I think people would be shocked at the amount of time we spend doing research. Let us review the record, go through transcripts and exhibits and motions that were filed, and make sure we leave no stone unturned.”

Given the road she has traveled, it’s not surprising that this mother of three adult children feels an enormous responsibility to help younger members of her broader legal family as they embark on their own careers. After her election in 2016, Judge Zayas created the Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders program in which high school, college and law students are invited to the Court of Appeals to interact with judges and attorneys, learn about the law, and allow themselves to dream about where their aspirations might take them. She has also taught at the UC College of Law and spoken at many events within the legal community, including the commencement ceremony for UC Law’s Class of 2017, at which she was honored with the school’s Nicholas Longworth III Alumni Achievement Award. One of the graduates that day was a first-generation American whose parents are Armenian. Verjine Adanalian found herself incredibly inspired by Judge Zayas’ remarks.

“I remember literally sitting on the edge of my seat and feeling like I identified with someone who I admired greatly,” Verjine recalls. “My grandmother later said that hearing Judge Zayas’ story made her believe that anything could be possible for me, too.”

The desire to share this feeling and connect with the judge led Adanalian to reach out to her. She had passed the bar exam by this point but hadn’t yet found the right first job. There was a networking event on a bitterly cold February evening and Adanalian almost didn’t go, but she was rewarded by finding Judge Zayas there, then by overcoming her anxiety to approach the judge — a move that forever changed both women.

“When I met her,” says Judge Zayas, “I knew in my heart that I needed to know, ‘Who is Verjine? What are her goals? What can I do for her?’ Because as we establish our relationship, that’s my goal and responsibility as a mentor — to help them become more successful than they would have been otherwise.”

As their mentorship and friendship quickly grew, Judge Zayas helped provide Adanalian with exposure within the judge’s network along with responsibilities that would cultivate the skills Adanalian needed to gain the type of job she wanted. Before long, a fellowship opened at the Ohio Justice and Policy Center working with trafficking victims. It became a perfect example of the value of insightful mentoring and courageous personal growth.

“What makes Judge Zayas special as a mentor is how generous and thoughtful she is,” Adanalian says. “I’ve appreciated how she has fostered my growth and empowered me to be confident and bold. Her authenticity makes it easy to confide in her and to trust that you’re safe.”

Case in point: Adanalian wasn’t going to apply for the position, believing she wasn’t qualified and that she should spare herself the rejection. Judge Zayas saw it otherwise and said so, knowing that she had been advising Adanalian on specifics that strengthened her marketability. Sure enough, she bested her competition and remains in the job today. She also teaches at Wright State University, and in seeking out opportunities to converse with bar associations throughout the state, she’s becoming a go-to expert in Ohio on the unfortunate topic of human trafficking.