In Memory: Mike Apicella

With sadness, Legal Aid shares news of F. Michael Apicella's passing. Mike passed away peacefully with his wife, Judge Mary Jane Trapp, and his beloved cats by his side on November 10, 2019.

He was the youngest and sixth child of Felice and Catherine Apicella and was preceded in death by his brothers, Ramo, Anthony, Carl and Richard and his sister, Lonnie. Mike's brother Ramo was killed and his brother Anthony was severely injured when a drunken milk truck driver drove onto the tree lawn, striking the two boys as they played. In those days immigrants did not bring lawsuits and would not have had much success if they did, but Mike dedicated most of his legal career to representing the wrongfully injured.

Mike graduated from John Adams High School and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from The Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, Mike wrestled and played lacrosse and was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He also joined the Army ROTC, where he first became a tanker. Mike served his county as a member of the 107th Armored Cavalry and as a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Army.

His sixty-five-year legal career began in the military. When he returned to civilian life Mike practiced at the National City Bank Trust Department, the New York Central Railroad Law Department, and then entered the private practice of law. For twenty years he practiced with his wife in the Cleveland firm of Apicella & Trapp before she took the bench.

In 2003, he received the Ritter Award from the Ohio State Bar Foundation for his unparalleled commitment to the betterment of both the profession and the justice system. He served the legal community through bar association work with the Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys, the Cuyahoga County Bar Association, and the Cuyahoga County Bar Foundation, serving as president of those organizations. He chaired arbitration panels for the Cuyahoga and Geauga County Common Pleas Courts and was a mediator for the U.S. District Court. He served for many years on the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Judicial Selection Committee and the Ohio State Bar Association’s Council of Delegates.

Mike was a life member of the Judicial Conference of the Eighth Judicial District and was one of the longest serving members of the Ohio Delegation to the American Bar Association House of Delegates, attending each meeting from 1983 until 2008. His voice for the solo and small firm practitioner and the clients served by these attorneys was highly regarded nationally. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his name to the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.  You can make a gift below --