Our Story
The story of Zashin Law begins in 1937, when, after attending what is now Seton Hall University’s Law School, Robert Charles Gruhin passed the New Jersey Bar Exam and set up his solo law office in Jersey City, New Jersey. Mr. Gruhin’s practice thrived and he became both a successful lawyer and local politician.
Mr. Gruhin practiced law for more than 60 years. The cases he took were varied and often complex. Mr. Gruhin routinely handled domestic relations matters. By the end of his career, he was the attorney of record in more than 75 state and federal court actions in which fully reported judicial opinions were published. He was a legal legend.
One of Mr. Gruhin’s children, Marcia, grew up to become a teacher. Marcia married another teacher, who was born in New York. Her husband, Robert I. Zashin, was raised in privilege in Virginia, the son of a well-off lumberyard owner, until a blaze ended his fortunate way of life. In his early teens, he returned to Brooklyn, New York and lived on Avenue K, and later in Newark. There, he attended college at Rutgers University, and earned his bachelor’s degree in history and economics, and a master’s degree in education. He became a 5th grade teacher.
Robert and Marcia started life with nothing, as many couples do. To make ends meet, “Bob” did odd jobs after work. Some of these jobs were dangerous, such as collecting installment payments from individuals for their furniture purchases. Marcia suggested that he consider law school and follow the path of her father. Bob sought the counsel of his father-in-law. Mr. Gruhin agreed with his daughter that Bob was well suited to the practice of law. Bob took their advice.
Bob entered Rutgers Law School. After a year, he found full-time law school too taxing with his extra jobs. He decided that to finish his degree he needed to find a full-time law school that was both nationally accredited and a night-school. His only choice was in Cleveland. So, the couple moved to Cleveland where Bob attended what is now Cleveland State University’s School of Law.
Robert Zashin In Cleveland
Upon passing the bar in 1969, Bob took a job with the City of Cleveland. He initially practiced in the growing field of Environmental Law. From there, he became a Referee in the Domestic Relations Division of Common Pleas Court and found that he was particularly well suited for this area of the law.
In 1974, Bob ran for Domestic Relations Judge. On Election Day, May 7th, 1974, Bob lost. He finished third in the primary. He often said that losing was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Robert moved on to private practice. Bob was hard-working, garrulous, funny, friendly, and by all accounts, likable. Clients, court employees, and colleagues liked him and he found that he was meant for private practice. Over time, Bob joined three law firms as a partner. What Bob did that was unique early in his career was he limited his practice almost exclusively to Family Law. At that time, few lawyers could do this, if for no other reason than that they could not generate enough cases to support such a focused practice. Bob made it work. Not only that, he had more than enough work. He was able to grow his practice. And he excelled at it.
Bob’s fame was such that long before the internet he was sought out as a “talking head” on National Television. Mike Wallace, the legendary newsman, came to Cleveland to interview him for the television show “Prime Time Sunday”. Also at the interview was Chris Wallace, then his father’s protege, and later a legendary newsman like his father, who scrambled under Bob’s feet below his desk to organize the wires.
When the Cleveland Press ran a feature called, “Cleveland’s Top 10 Lawyers,” on January 10, 1982, Bob was selected as one of the chosen ten. The Smithsonian Institution, in its National Museum of American History, ran an exhibit called “Nation of Nations.” The exhibit explored American contributions of various nationalities, and the exhibitors chose to include Bob’s 1974 “Zashin for Judge” campaign sign.
Over the years, Bob hired and trained other lawyers who came to work for him and learned beside him. Many of those who worked with iterations of “Zashin” firms went on to family law careers. Several are now magistrates; some are judges and in one case an appellate judge. Moreover, some of these lawyers moved on to become leading lawyers themselves throughout Ohio and the nation.
People of all walks of life sought out Bob’s help: ordinary people, people in distress, people with complex situations, as well as professional athletes and celebrities. Bob Zashin became a doyen of Family Law in Cleveland, in Ohio, and was nationally recognized in what was for a time a less-than-glamorous legal discipline. Robert Zashin helped change the perception of what Family Law attorneys were and how they could help others in distress.
At the end of his life, he was variously described as “a flamboyant family lawyer,” a “nationally prominent family lawyer,” “a lion” and one who would “outsmart many foes” and would “out shout all of them.”
Robert Zashin is a legal legend. And his legacy lives on.
Zashin Law
The latest incarnation of what Bob Zashin started is Zashin Law, LLC.
Zashin Law is a boutique Family Law firm that serves Northeast Ohio, all Ohio, the United States, and the World. Our Family Law team handles cases for everyman and everywoman, people in distress, and people with extremely complex situations locally, nationally, and internationally. Of course, we also handle cases for the rich, and the ultra-rich, celebrities, and professional athletes.
We also handle the most important case in the world. Yours.
We have handled cases at the lowest level of state courts all the way to the Supreme Court of Ohio. We have litigated cases in Federal District Court, from an exceptionally rare en banc appeal, to the United States Supreme Court. Twice!
Andrew Zashin, Robert’s son, is our Founding Partner, and as this history attests, he is a third-generation lawyer. Andrew started working with Bob when he was in the 7th grade and he never stopped. Over vacations and school breaks Andrew worked with Bob. For Bob, everyday was “bring your son to work day” Andrew was a fixture at Bob’s side in his various offices, meetings, and court appearances. In one case where Bob was an expert witness, Andrew sat through the entire trial. The Defendant lost and on appeal claimed that Andrew’s appearance at trial swayed the jury! That argument was found to have no merit. Family Law is in his blood. His commitment to our practice, and to excellence, is profound. Andrew is concerned about every client’s result and experience with the firm.
For over 20 years, Andrew has taught at his law school alma mater, the School of Law, Case Western Reserve University. He has taught every Family Law class the Law School offers and now teaches a class on Advanced and International Family Law. Also, he is on the faculty of the Cox International Law Center. With the Cox Center, he has worked on Amici Curiae briefs for the two Supreme Court cases on which and his team represented clients.
During his more than 30 years of practice, Andrew has acquired an impressive array of awards and commendations for his work as a Family Law attorney. Worth Magazine designated him one of the “Top Lawyers for High Net Worth Clients in the United States.” Chambers & Partners of London, the world’s most respected and important legal ratings guide, has given him their top rating, “Band 1.” Chamber review calls Andrew “lightning in a bottle. If you have a challenging case, he is a delight to have on the matter. He is extremely creative and brilliant” and “one of the two or three top International Family Law attorneys in the country.” In 2004, Cleveland Magazine ran a feature story about Andrew about how he could even the playing field for a seemingly outmatched wife. That feature story, called “The Divorcing Woman’s Best Friend,” still circulates amongst potential clients 20 years later.
Andrew has lectured in Ohio, nationally and in many different countries about various legal topics ranging from differing religious issues, children traveling across borders, and international law issues. He is frequently asked to comment in national publications about legal and timely issues. Andrew has also served as an expert witness in Ohio, several states and in several countries.
Andrew started Zashin Law’s International Law Department. Navigating the intricacies of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction is nightmarish. Our firm is one of the few law firms in the United States that consistently helps people with these problems. We help Left Behind Parents (“LBPs”) reunite with their children. We help parents accused of having abducted their children wrongfully, keep them. We have helped parents and children escape from intolerable situations. We have used unconventional means in unconventional courts to address abduction issues. We figure out ways to solve problems other firms cannot. Our firm has represented a client in one of the two Federal en banc Hague Abduction proceedings concerning the 1980 Hague Abduction treaty. In addition, we have represented clients in two of the only five Hague Child Abduction cases ever heard by the United States Supreme Court. These two cases are the most important of the five because they dealt with the central issues of the convention, Habitual Residence and Grave Risk of Harm, and are now the corner stones, or “bookends,” of Hague abduction litigation in the United States and studied around the world.
Our Managing Partner, Kyleigh Weinfurtner, has worked with Andrew since law school. A super-high-energy person, she was his best student. After law school, she started working at another top Family Law firm in Cleveland, which no longer exists. There she was quickly made a partner. Now, at Zashin Law, Kyleigh both practices and simultaneously manages the firm.
Kyleigh has a well-earned reputation as a disciplined, tenacious, and detailed trial lawyer. As befits a former Division 1 lacrosse player, Kyleigh is relentless. From her perch leading the team, she has earned a reputation for excellence among Family Lawyers, both nationally and internationally, and is frequently called upon to assist others, in Ohio and elsewhere, with their cases. Kyleigh is on the Board of Directors for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and was the Chair of the Family Law Section for multiple years, in addition; she is also on the faculty of the School of Law, Case Western Reserve University. Well liked by her colleagues, she has served as both the Chair of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Bar Association’s (CMBA) Family Law Section and as the CMBA’s Vice President.
As Managing Partner, Kyleigh makes sure that our legal excellence is matched by firm performance in every other way. We invest in the state-of-the-art legal technology to give our clients every advantage. Finally, we do not forget the emotional toll cases take on every client and their children. Our clients deserve the best care under the absolute worst circumstances of their lives. We try to make clients’ lives better. She is determined to make sure that our legacy of excellence continues.
We at Zashin Law understand that it is easy to get into a marriage, but it can be so difficult and complicated to get out. We never make promises or guarantees. Ever. What we strive for is the best possible results for each client in consideration of their unique circumstances.
