December 13, 2023
Watching players take the field on NFL Sundays, Michael Catapano’s father would tell his young son to ask himself, “why can’t that be me?” That question became a lodestar on a career path that has taken Catapano from his years as a professional football player to his current work as a commercial litigator and into volunteer service inspiring future lawyers.
Growing up in Bayville, NY, Catapano played football for Chaminade High School and then attended Princeton University, where he was a two-time captain and the 2012 Ivy League Player of the Year. In 2013, he became the first player in over a decade to enter the NFL from the Ivy League when Kansas City drafted him in the seventh round. He played as a pass rusher for five seasons—for the Chiefs, for his hometown New York Jets, and for the Houston Texans.
When it was time hang up his cleats and enter a new field, Catapano knew that law school was the right next step. At St. John’s Law, he fueled his studies with the same strong work ethic and clear determination that helped him succeed in football. Setting his sights on a 1L summer internship with Hon. Joseph F. Bianco, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, he decided to take the initiative.
“I reached out to Judge Bianco’s chambers directly,” Catapano says. “I mailed him a package that contained my resume, my transcript, and a letter explaining why I was a strong candidate for the internship program. I was fortunate to get a call for an interview and, ultimately, an internship offer. Funny enough, the day I received the offer was also the day my wife announced she was pregnant with our second child. You can say that it was a particularly memorable, and important, day for our family!”
Catapano’s time in chambers and in the courtroom that summer was formative. “What made that experience so impactful was getting to see Judge Bianco as more than just a judge on the Second Circuit,” he shares. “I got to see and experience firsthand how he treats everyone around him, from the professionals who work for him to those appearing before him. I got a glimpse into his thought process for approaching legal issues, his writing style, what he finds persuasive in oral arguments, as well as his perspectives on how to stay focused in this incredibly complicated job.”
Years later, having graduated from St. John’s Law and launched his career as an associate at McKool Smith in New York, Catapano maintains close ties to Judge Bianco. “I met a lot of notable people during my NFL journey who are role models, but I consider myself very lucky and blessed to have formed a relationship with Judge Bianco,” he says. “Beyond my own father, Judge Bianco is among the people I look up to the most and try to emulate, both as a legal professional and as a man. Every time I interact with him, I learn something new—whether it’s related to the law or simply becoming a better, kinder person.”
Given that meaningful connection, when Judge Bianco asked him to participate in the Second Circuit’s Robert A. Katzmann Justice For All: Courts and the Community Initiative, Catapano jumped at the chance. Established and co-chaired by Judge Bianco as after-school and camp programs in Central Islip, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, the Initiative introduces New York City students from underserved communities to diverse careers in the law, to the courts’ day-to-day operations, and to the work of lawyers in different practice settings.
Catapano has already presented to the students multiple times, and looks forward to continuing his volunteer work. “The Initiative is special,” he says. “The presenters are superstars in the legal world, so I consider myself very honored and blessed to present my story alongside them. I love telling the kids about the important and powerful legal work I handle at McKool Smith, stories of people I met in the NFL, and the feeling of sitting at counsel table at trial or running out of the tunnel with 80,000+ screaming fans in a packed stadium. I try to impart that, whatever their dream is and whatever they’re looking to do in life, they can look at those who are doing it and ask, ‘why can’t that be me?’ If my story shows anything, it’s that, if you want something badly enough, you can find a way to make it happen.”