Alumni Leonard Amari (left) and Warren Lupel (third from left) offer their congratulations to Lupel & Amari Scholarship winners Nicole Petrarca and Robert Cannatello.
Robert Cannatello and Nicole Petrarca, outstanding students at The John Marshall Law School, are the recipients of the Frank & Jeanne Lupel and Joseph & Katherine Amari Scholarship.
The generosity of alumni Warren Lupel (J.D. ’68) and Leonard Amari (J.D. ’68) has made this scholarship possible. They established the scholarship in the memory of their parents.
“It has been many years since we graduated, but we both believe the education we received at John Marshall was excellent,” said Amari of Amari & Locallo. “Warren and I have had successful careers, practicing law together and then moving into specialty fields of law.” Lupel recently retired from Much Shelist, P.C. “We wanted to find a way to give back by helping the next generation of students at the law school.”
Cannatello received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago and practiced in that field for a short time before he began looking for a new challenge. He put his skills to use working as a consultant to the City of Chicago’s Planning Commission.
Once Cannatello began the rigors of law school he realized he was in the right profession.
“I’ve enjoyed a number of classes, and I am happy to give back by serving as a teaching assistant for several professors,” he said. Cannatello’s experience with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has given him a new appreciation for the application of the law. He has worked in the Civil Division with Assistant State’s Attorney Patricia Fallon and will work in the Criminal Division during the summer. When he graduates from John Marshall in May 2015, Cannatello expects to specialize in tax law.
Cannatello also serves as the student representative to the John Marshall Law School Board of Trustees, and is a member of the law school’s chapter of the Justinian Society of Lawyers. Outside of John Marshall, Cannatello is active at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.
Petrarca, a third-year student, worked as a legal extern at the in-house legal department of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago during summer 2013. Catholic Charities then hired her on as a law clerk in August 2013. Through her work Petrarca has gained experience in labor and employment law, fields she hopes to specialize in after graduation.
She aided both the general counsel and senior attorney in drafting new employee policies and updating existing policies. Her work has given her experience in drafting position statements and verified responses submitted to both the Illinois Department of Human Rights and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has also worked on a variety of issues in the areas of corporate law, litigation and real estate with assistance from staff attorneys.
A graduate of St. Norbert College, Petrarca is a member of The John Marshall Law Review, and serves as co-president of the John Marshall Justinian Society of Lawyers Student Chapter. She also currently serves as co-chair of The Justinian Society of Lawyers’ Mentorship Program. In the past two years, Petrarca has volunteered for The Center for Disability & Elder Law’s (CDEL) Winter and Summer Benefits, at which money is raised to allow CDEL to provide quality pro bono legal services to low-income seniors and people with disabilities.