HARRISBURG, Pa. (April 24, 2023) — Pittsburgh lawyer Nathan S. Catanese, of counsel at Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, will receive the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Real Property, Probate and Trust (RPPT) Law Section 2023 Trailblazer Award for probate and trust law at a May 5 awards ceremony during the PBA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
The section created the Trailblazer Award to annually recognize young lawyers practicing in the real property and probate and trust areas of law. Honorees must demonstrate excellence in the practice of law, professionalism through bar association activities and a commitment to pro bono legal services.
In his practice, Catanese focuses on estate planning, estate and trust administration, charitable giving, tax-exempt status and various corporate issues. He also assists clients with wealth succession planning, advises nonprofit and religious organizations on governance matters, and aids in the creation of private foundations. Within his firm, he serves on the Recruiting Committee and the Lateral Integration team as part of the firm’s Strategic Planning Initiative.
One of his nominators said: “…Nathan is very involved in the legal community and community-at-large. He volunteers time to serve a number of organizations, including working with family members and friends as part of the board of directors for The Camp Catanese Foundation. Through that organization, Nathan works to help many underprivileged students attend college preparedness camp and other programs, and to assist them with test prep and college and scholarship applications.”
In addition to being a member of the PBA RPPT Law Section, Catanese is a member of the Charitable Organizations Committee and Tax Law Section.
A fellow of the American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Catanese presents continuing legal education (CLE) courses for the section’s National CLE Conference in Washington, D.C. He also has presented CLE courses for the Allegheny County Bar Association and the Hay-Sell Pittsburgh American Inn of Court, of which he is a past member of the Executive Committee.
Catanese is a member of Allegheny County Bar Association, Florida Bar Association and the Pittsburgh Legal Journal Orphans’ Court Opinions Committee. He is the co-founder, secretary and member of The Camp Catanese Foundation Board of Directors.
Catanese earned a J.D. from Notre Dame Law School at University of Notre Dame and a B.A. from University of Notre Dame. He has an LL.M. in taxation and a certificate in estate planning from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, and is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and Florida.
For more information on the PBA Annual Meeting, visit https://www.pabar.org/pdf/2023/AnnualMeeting2023.pdf.