January 12, 2009
When Paul Napoli ’92L first spotted the then Marie Kaiser ’89C,
’93L at a pizza parlor across the street from the Queens campus, he
had an undeniable feeling. “You know how people always say ‘You
just know,’” he says, as he gazes adoringly at his wife. “Well, I
just knew.” The timing wasn’t right as the law students were both
involved with other people, but true love was not to be denied and
years later they ran into each other in the most natural setting
imaginable for the pair — a courthouse.
“We bumped into each other in Nassau County,” Paul recalls. “We
were both working on trials in courtrooms right next to each other
in 1994. I called her a couple of weeks later and asked her out on
a date. She said she was studying for her master’s in law so she
could only give me an hour on Friday. I was supposed to pick her up
at eight o’clock and at 8:30 I was still looking for her house. I
had gotten the directions all wrong!”
Despite Paul’s tardiness, the couple enjoyed a nice dinner and
Marie even extended her hour time frame to include dessert. Now
married for more than 10 years and the parents of two, they are not
only a devoted and loving couple, but also model alumni whose
dedication to each other, family and alma mater has impressed all
who know them. At a young age, they have achieved much success and
are not only grateful for all they have, but also committed to a
life of generosity. “They are a fantastic couple,” says Marc Bern,
who has been partners in a law firm with Paul for 10 years. “They
both are amazing people.”
It’s not surprising that Paul and Marie are so ideally suited
and have such strong ties to the University. They grew up in
Manhasset in tight knit families that already had ties to St.
John’s. Marie’s parents, John (’53L) and Dolores Kaiser ’53UC (nee
Toner) met at St. John’s and Paul’s father Joseph Napoli ’63C, ’67L
is also a proud alumnus.
Love of the law was yet another commonality. Marie first started
working in her father’s law firm as a youngster and in Paul she
found a kindred spirit. Both strove to work hard and use their
ability in the courtroom to better the lives of others. “It’s the
way we were raised,” Marie says. “I think Paul and I, one of the
reasons we clicked so well together is that we were raised very
much the same way to always try and do as much as we can
to help people.” “It’s something St. John’s and our parents
instilled in us,” Paul adds. “To be generous and to help other
people.”
For Paul, part of that aid to others has been achieved through a
stellar career as an extremely successful attorney. Working in
various practice areas which have included pharmaceutical liability
and mass torts (which involve large numbers of claims that are
associated with a single product), he has reportedly won more than
a billion dollars in settlements and verdicts with his dogged
determination and skill. He garnered nationalrecognition with his
representation of clients who said they were injured by the diet
drug fen-phen. “Ultimately, we ended up representing about 16,000
people around the country,” he says. “Eventually, [the company
which sold the drug] settled most of the cases.” He has now turned
his attention to cases involving the environment as well as
representing those who are suffering in the wake of September 11th.
“We were approached about the workers at Ground Zero who were
getting sick,” Paul says. “Nobody would represent them and they
really had nowhere to turn. These people were suffering and dying
and out of work yet no one wanted to help them.”
Napoli’s firm, Napoli Bern LLP, now represents police officers,
firefighters and workers who have developed respiratory problems
and other health issues since their time spent at the World Trade
Center site. That entails not only litigating in court, but also
lobbying politicians for the rights of the victims. It means a
great deal to him, Paul says, to be working on such a case. “My
office window looked out on the Towers,” he says. “It feels good to
be hopefully a part of the healing process. I think everybody in
New York knows how bad it really was and how little was really done
for these people. They are fighting like hell and it feels good to
try and help set it straight.”
Standing up for those less fortunate is an integral part of who
Paul is, says Robert Ruescher, a professor of legal writing and
coordinator of the Legal Writing Program at St. John’s University’s
School of Law. “I’ve worked with Paul on the World Trade Center
litigation,” Ruescher says. “He is a relentless advocate for his
clients. He’s a good example of how commitment and diligence can
lead to success.”
Marc Bern, Paul’s partner, says he has immense respect for both
him and Marie as not only attorneys, but also as individuals. The
three worked together before Marie left to become a full-time
mother to daughter Amanda, 7, and son Michael, 6. “I have been in
practice for 32 years and it’s a true privilege that I have at this
point in my career to be associated with Paul and to have been able
to watch him develop into one of the best mass tort lawyers out
there. When I worked with Marie, she was very dedicated with a
‘nose to the grindstone’ style and that’s the same type of wife and
mother she is. She gives it her all.”
Though she sometimes misses balancing the scales of justice,
Marie has her hands full with raising a family and the many
organizations to which she gives her time. She has been very active
with The Bone Marrow Foundation and Old Westbury Gardens and serves
on the board of the Glen Cove Boys and Girls Club. “It’s in an area
where the kids really need help,” she says. “Most of them don’t
have either of the parents at home for them since both parents are
working and they don’t have anywhere to go after school. It’s
really trying to get those kids before they fall in with the wrong
element and give them positive role models.”
She also heads the Nassau chapter of the School of Law Alumni
Association. Both Paul and Marie have remained close to alma mater
and in 2004 their generosity made possible the Paul and Marie
Kaiser Napoli Lecture Hall in the School of Law. The room boasts
seating for 163 students and various amenities including wireless
access, charging stations for student laptops, a professor’s smart
podium which operates light, sound, video and Internet connectivity
and complete computer desk-top capabilities.
School of Law Dean Mary Daly says the Napoli’s gift “set a gold
standard for others to emulate.” “Marie and Paul are very special
people,” Daly says. “Their generosity to the Law School is
remarkable, especially since they are relatively recent alumni. The
learning experience of our students is enriched on a daily basis
through the renovation of Room 1-15 and its cutting edge
technology.” The couple is also regularly present at student and
alumni events, Dean Daly says. “Marie and Paul are very grateful
for the wonderful education they received at the Law School,” she
adds. “Their generosity springs from a genuine desire to give back
and contribute to the success of future generations of St. John’s
graduates.”
Paul and Marie say they feel a debt of gratitude to St. John’s.
“It feels like home,”
Marie says. “St. John’s really gave us our start and we want to try
and help others,”
Paul says. “We try to hire lawyers from St. John’s, and we try to
support the school.
We have a scholarship and we did the [lecture hall]. People just
don’t think to do those things and we are hoping to get others to
think the same way.” They are instilling those values in their
children, who also get a good dose of St. John’s by attending
Red
Storm basketball games with their parents. “We try to teach them
that it’s important to have a good education,” Paul says. “The more
they know, the better off they will be in life. We want them to
know that it’s important to do for others.” “To have empathy for
other people,” Marie adds.
Those are lessons couched in a great deal of love. There is
tenderness between Paul and Marie and each names the other as the
person they most admire. Family means everything to them. For all
they do, the Napolis are happiest traveling with their children, or
even just kicking back watching a movie as a family at their home
in Long Island. Looking ahead they say they are considering even
more ways they can give back. Those plans may one day include a
special project at St. John’s. “I want to eventually retire,” Paul
says. “My thinking in the future is to open up a clinic at the Law
School to help people who have been wrongfully convicted. I can’t
think of anything more horrible than being put in jail and nobody
listening to you. We know that it happens all the time. We are at
that stage in our lives where we are trying to see how we can use
the law to really help people the most.”
For now, Paul and Marie Napoli are at a great place on their
journey. When it’s right, you just know.