Joseph M. DiOrio is Chairman of Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara’s Banking and Creditor’s Rights Practice. He has more than 40 years of experience providing financial institutions, including national, regional and local banks, bank holding companies, and other financial services providers and lenders – both in Rhode Island and out-of-state – with astute guidance, business-oriented strategies and solutions, and legal representation for commercial transactions, asset-based and real estate loans, foreclosures, workouts, debt restructurings, and dispute resolution.

Prior to joining forces with PLDO, Attorney DiOrio had his own prominent bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice that he founded in 2005, after spending more than two decades working at large law firms. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has represented a myriad of banking and business clients as creditors in bankruptcies and in other instances of default by the borrower. In addition, he is frequently appointed as a state court receiver, federal bankruptcy trustee or special master, where he is charged with administering debt, liquidating property and satisfying creditor obligations pursuant to federal and state law. 

Honors and Awards

• Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2003 and named “Lawyer of the Year” – in the Providence Metro region eight (8) times for the practice areas of: Banking and Finance Law; Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; and Litigation – Bankruptcy.
• Honored by his peers and judges with AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell, which is the highest rating given to attorneys based on both legal ability and ethics attained from confidential opinions of members of the Bar and Judiciary.
• Continuously distinguished by Super Lawyers.
• A 2020 honoree in the Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly “Excellence in the Law” rankings, where he was included in the Hall of Fame category where he received a special lifetime achievement award for senior leaders of the profession.
• Recognized by Rhode Island Monthly in the practice area of “bankruptcy and workout” since 2020 in its “Professional Excellence in Law” listing.

Attorney DiOrio is on the board of the Justinian Law Society of Rhode Island and is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Commercial Law League of America, the Turnaround Management Association, and the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees (NABT). He is a Fellow of the Rhode Island Bar Foundation and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Previously, he was a longstanding board member for the Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting victims of domestic violence. 

Attorney DiOrio earned his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law and is licensed to practice in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.