Marie has been practicing law since 1994. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Marie has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court; the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit; the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Ohio and the Eastern District of Kentucky; and all courts in the State of Ohio and in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
During her career, Marie has engaged in public service. Marie was the first woman and minority to serve on the Fourth District Court of Appeals of Ohio. She has been a visiting judge on the Ohio Supreme Court and various other appellate districts.
She was a former Magistrate of the Portsmouth Municipal Court; Marie was a law director for Waverly, Ohio and the solicitor for Piketon, Ohio. Marie has served as an assistant prosecutor for Pike County, Ohio; and she frequently serves as special prosecutor in Chillicothe, Ohio. Marie also was a contract public defender for Pike County and Adams County, Ohio handling felonies and misdemeanors for both counties.
While on the Fourth District Court of Appeals, Marie served on the Criminal Practice and Procedure Committee, Public Confidence and Community Outreach Committee, and the Domestic Relations Committee for the Ohio Judicial Conference. She also served on the Court Technology Committee as well as the Appellate Practice and Procedure Committee. She served as a designee for Judicial Campaign Grievances.
Marie has served as a trustee of the Fourth District for the Ohio Women’s Bar Association. She is a member of the Ohio Women’s Bar Association; and she is a member of the class of 2016-2017 of the Ohio Women Bar Foundation’s Leadership Institute. She is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
As a former adjunct faculty member for Shawnee State University, Marie has taught real estate law, business law, and probate law. She has been a speaker for continuing legal education seminars, the Ohio Women’s Bar Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and OSU Moritz College of Law’s Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. She has been a judge for the OSU Moritz College of Law’s Lawrence Negotiations Competition.
Marie is the daughter of first generation immigrants from the Philippines. She was born in Lakewood, Ohio but moved to Southern Ohio when she was 2 years old. She grew up in the small Appalachian town of Waverly and graduated from Waverly High School. After high school, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Miami University in 1991. While at Miami University, she was the captain of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad.
Marie’s father was a physician and her mother was a nurse. Her parents instilled in her a strong work ethic; and they encouraged attention to detail, and a caring and kind disposition in her.
Marie is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She is on the board for the Children’s Museum in Portsmouth, Ohio; and she is also a board member of the Scioto County, Ohio Board of Elections.
Marie is a 500-RYT Yoga instructor. She is certified to teach yin yoga, yoga nidra, trauma informed, adaptive, restorative, and vinyasa yoga.
She is also a fifth-degree black belt in Shotokan karate. She has won various state, national titles, and international titles and has won the U.S. Open in traditional forms. She is currently a student in Brazilian Jiujitsu. She is an assistant instructor at Hoover Combat Athletics.
Marie enjoys reading, writing, and playing the piano.
Marie has litigated and negotiated cases in federal courts; the Ohio Court of Claims; common pleas courts, county courts, mayor’s courts, municipal courts, and appellate courts in Ohio and in circuit and district courts in Kentucky. She takes the time to get to know her clients so that she can provide the best legal representation for them. She wants her clients to know that their voices and their cases are important to her; and she will always do her best to represent them.
