FINANCIAL DISTRICT — May was quite the eventful month for Zenith Taylor, who was inaugurated on May 22 as the first black woman president of the Queens County Bar Association.

Earlier that month, she started a new job as the first-ever statewide civic engagement coordinator for the New York State Unified Court System. She now oversees new programs to demonstrate how the state’s various courts function, and how they serve people.

Her new job, plus the start of her bar association presidency, appears coincidental.

“But,” she noted, “I don’t believe in coincidences. I want to say it was God’s plan. I think things happen for a reason.” 

Taylor is the former president of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Queens County, one of many professional groups she has helped lead while building her legal practice in Forest Hills. 

With so much activity, one could wonder how she gets it all done — juggling multiple client cases while serving the community. She admits to putting in long hours at the expense of a good night’s sleep. 

“I will lose some sleep,” she added with a slight laugh. “But I think I can do it. I’ve been president of a lot of organizations before, and I kept my 9-to-5.”

As a lawyer, Taylor specialized in civil court cases, including family law. However, she hasn’t practiced law since 2019, when she accepted a “quasi-judicial” appointment as a court referee.

This position is similar to an associate judge but uses a lawyer who works with less power while presiding over cases. Referees often report their findings to a judge for final rulings.

Taylor admitted being a little concerned the new job might conflict with her role as Queens County’s bar president. But then she realized these two activities align, as both teach people how to navigate the legal system. 

For example, her previous work with the bar association has been helping other lawyers become involved in pro bono services. 

Taylor confirmed there are a lot of things people don’t know about courts. 

For example, some people don’t seek help through the legal system because they can’t afford a lawyer. As the new statewide civic engagement coordinator, Taylor wants to let them know about pro bono lawyers and other services. 

She first witnessed this sort of outreach when her father helped fellow immigrants complete the documents to apply for U.S. citizenship. 

Her father, Neville, and mother, Sydnia, were from Jamaica, but they met and married in London, where Taylor was born. They moved to Queens when she was 5 and settled in Queens Village, where they belonged to Ss. Joachim & Anne Parish. 

Neville and Sydnia have since passed away. Taylor’s sister, Ava, is a paralegal, and Taylor’s daughter, Olivia, is in college studying political science. 

Taylor said her parents were diligent in exemplifying the Catholic faith to their daughters. Her father, a printer, was especially eager to help newcomers to the U.S. 

“My father,” Taylor recalled, “would encourage everyone, saying, ‘Make sure you become a citizen.’ And they would say, ‘Oh, the form…’ And he said, ‘It’s not that difficult! Bring it; I’ll show you how to do it.’” 

Meanwhile, her mother, a bookkeeper, encouraged her in the faith. 

“She said, ‘If you ever go to someone else’s church, you go to your Catholic Mass first!’ ” 

Taylor earned her law degree from Howard University. The desire to become a lawyer solidified while studying at what today is Saint Leo University in Florida, where the faculty and staff echoed her father’s urging to always help others in need. 

“I think growing up as an immigrant, I knew that there was a need for an attorney who looked like [other immigrants] and understood their culture,” she said. 

Ultimately, she chose to become a lawyer not to build a lucrative law practice but to help people. 

Besides, she said, “It doesn’t cost anything to be kind.”