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Marion Superior Court Judge Cynthia Ayers, J.D. ’82, is the 2024 recipient of the Antoinette Dakin Leach Award, presented by the IndyBar’s Women in the Law Division. Judge Ayers has taught as an adjunct professor at IU McKinney for the last nine years. She currently teaches professional responsibility.

Judge Ayers recently assumed senior status after 32 years on the Marion Superior Court, making her one of the longest sitting judges in Indiana. She has taken an active role in mentoring and providing opportunities to advance the careers of hundreds of women and minority lawyers in the profession. She began her career as a social worker, then became a probation officer for the Marion Superior Court and later a parole agent for the state. In the late 1970s, she enrolled at IU McKinney and graduated with honors.

Prior to being elevated to the bench, Judge Ayers worked as a Marion County deputy prosecutor from 1983 to 1985. She spent three years in private practice and worked as litigation counsel for the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor. She served as a master commissioner of the Marion Circuit Court from 1986 to 1988, and then as a magistrate in the Title IV-D Child Support Enforcement Court from 1988 to 1990.

Judge Ayers then ran for a seat on the bench as a Republican candidate in 1991 and won, making her the first African American woman elected to the Marion Superior Court. She was re-elected five times and was appointed by the governor and retained twice.

In addition to her legal work, Judge Ayers supervised the Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau, the Family Resource Center, and the Ordinance Violation Court. She served as associate presiding judge of the Marion Superior Court in 1998, and later as presiding judge of the Superior Court from 2000 to 2002. She has chaired and served on many committees and task forces for several judicial administrative efforts, including the construction of the Marion County Justice Center. Throughout her legal career, she has been active in the Indianapolis Bar Association, chairing and serving on numerous committees. She was elected president in 2006, making her the first African American to serve in that role. She initiated a diversity and inclusion initiative during her time leading the organization that is still a prominent feature of the bar association today. She also has served in leadership roles in the Indiana State Bar Association, Marion County Bar Association, the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association, and the Indiana Judges Association.

The Antoinette Dakin Leach Award is named in honor of the first woman in Indiana to challenge bar admission based on gender. The award recognizes trailblazing female attorneys who carry on that legacy.