(Photos courtesy of Cassidy Capoferri)
Cassidy Capoferri is pictured outside Denali National Park in Alaska.
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Cassidy Capoferri’s path to law school was perhaps a tad unconventional.
Her plan through undergrad at Wayne State University, where she graduated in April with a dual major in English Honors and Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Anthropology, was to pursue a master’s degree in English.
“When I got to my fourth year, I realized I had no idea what I planned on doing with my English degree—I wanted to be a novelist, and that’s not exactly something you need a bachelor’s degree for, let alone a master’s degree,” she says.
She began exploring other options—including giving more serious thought to law school, an idea she had previously entertained but never very seriously.
“I guess I never believed I could be a lawyer,” she says. “It’s funny, I remember telling my mom last September that I was considering law school. I was on a run, and she always rides her bike with me so I have company. When I told her, she was really supportive of the idea. To have my parents’ support was huge. I think that was the final push I needed to believe that I really could go to law school.
“I took a number of courses throughout my undergrad that each taught me different styles of writing, from creative writing, to the concise style required in journalism, and, of course, research-based writing. I think my exposure to all these different types of writing will help me jump into legal writing and research.”
Capoferri is currently in her 1L year at the University of Detroit Mercy School Law, where she is a Dean’s Fellow.
“I absolutely cannot express my gratitude enough to Detroit Mercy Law for selecting me to be a Dean’s Fellow—to even have been considered for such a prestigious award was really an honor,” she says.
She particularly enjoys the law school’s downtown location.
“After four years of undergrad in Detroit, I wasn’t ready to leave the city—and the fact that Detroit Mercy Law is so established in the community is a huge bonus for me,” she says.
“Everyone with the school is great. They’ve been nothing but supportive, especially my classmates. I wasn’t sure how it was going to be starting law school online, but everyone’s been great.”
When classes went remote due to the pandemic, Capoferri was concerned about doing an entire semester online, despite having taken online course in undergrad.
“I was already nervous enough as it was to make the transition to law school. I won’t lie—I’ve really struggled with it,” she says. “As the semester’s gone on, I’ve gotten better with it, though. This is the new normal. My family’s been super supportive—they try to keep the noise level down in our house when I’m in class or studying, and I really appreciate it.
“I agree with the school this was in everyone’s best interest in terms of safety – that should be the most important thing right now.”
Capoferri plans to give thought over the holiday and in the second semester to possible internships and clinics. And while it’s too early for a specific career path, she hopes it would be in a law firm in the Motor City.
“I definitely have an interest in Trusts and Estates Law,” she says. “I had a personal experience with that area of the law that drew me, in part, to law school. I’d like to be able to help individuals and families in that area of the law.”
Born in Detroit, Capoferri has lived in several places in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana as the family moved around for her father’s job.
“I’ve always been fond of Detroit—I have serious respect for the city and for everything it’s been through,” she says. “Detroiters are tough. My mom grew up in Detroit, which I think is a lot of the reason I feel so strong of a connection to the city. It might not be my hometown, but it’s hers, and that makes it special to me.
“Besides that, I spent four years in Detroit, going to school here, and working here with internships with Karmanos and FOX 2. I met my boyfriend here. Now I also get to spend another three years as a part of the Detroit community. One day, I’d like to share the city with my kids the way my parents did with me. Detroit has given me so many opportunities, and I’d really like to give back to it through my legal studies and my legal career to come.”
Capoferri lives in Macomb with her parents and with her twin sister Kelsey.
“They’ve all been supportive of law school and everything that comes with it,” Capoferri says. “My sister graduated from Wayne State with me in April. She got her degree in Criminal Justice, so it’s fun sometimes to talk to her about what I’m learning in classes like Criminal Law, because she’s studied the legal system.”
In her leisure time, Capoferri likes watching football—“Especially the Lions, even when they lose”—and loves reading and writing, with a dream of becoming a novelist.
“Over the summer, I switched up my usual reading for some books on law,” she says. “I found a new love for John Grisham’s novels, for sure.”
She is also passionate about running, something she started during her undergrad sophomore year.
“I ran the Detroit Marathon—very slowly!—when I was 19, and I’m planning on running it again next October,” she says. “Running has been a great outlet when the studying gets to be a little bit overwhelming. More recently, I started racing in triathlons, but I can really only do that in the summertime because of how cold the water gets.”
After playing JV and varsity field hockey at Regina High School in Warren, Capoferri returned to the school as an assistant coach during her college sophomore year.
“Coaching is honestly so rewarding, because you get to see these girls grow up before your eyes, and you get to be a part of that,” she says. “You get to be an influence in their lives. Especially because I’m still so close in age to some of them, I try to be someone they can come to with questions about college and other things. I always want them to know that I’m there for them, on and off the field.”
Going to practice and games this year also provided a break from her legal studies.
“Being able to leave my house for a couple hours every week and do something I enjoy was huge in helping me adjust,” she says. “And all the girls on the teams have been great, too, always making me smile and laugh. Coaching has taught me too that I can’t sit back and wait for someone else to take charge. That’s been huge for me, because I’m a mostly introverted person. It’s made me break out of that shell, which will help me in my career going forward.”
Capoferri was also on the high school bowling team and the track and field team, competing in the discus and shot put events.
“Bowling was especially fun, because we were such a small group, but that’s where I met some of my best friends, from Regina and from the other Catholic high schools around metro Detroit,” she says. “We were a pretty strong team, too—we won our regional tournaments three out of four years and finished eighth in the state for our division.
