Regina M. Costa
Partner

Contact Information

Phone

Fax

401-824-5123

Email

rcosta@pldolaw.com

Biography/Practice Areas

Regina M. Costa is a Partner with Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC and a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Special Masterships Teams. Attorney Costa is a highly respected civil rights lawyer and concentrates her practice as a member of the firm’s Special Mastership in Prison Monitoring Team for the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, in the matter of Coleman v. Newsom, overseeing prison reform and compliance with orders of the Court concerning care and treatment of the approximately 35,000 mentally ill prisoners throughout the 34 institutions within the California prison system.

In 2011, Attorney Costa was appointed Child Advocate by Governor Lincoln D. Chafee and confirmed by the Rhode Island Senate. In this leadership position, which she held for five years, she was responsible for protecting the legal rights and interests of children in state care, reviewing and investigating all complaints of potential maltreatment of children in institutions and residences, and making recommendations for positive changes to policies and programs in the Department for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). Attorney Costa has executive level experience in the areas of human resources, organizational change, professional development, teaching, training and financial management.

Prior to her tenure as head of the state’s Office of Child Advocate, she worked for both DCYF and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections in multiple positions for more than 25 years serving as a social caseworker, social service analyst, probation and parole counselor, supervisor and senior legal counsel.

Ms. Costa is the co-founder of Community Based Youth Transitions Centers for Juvenile Corrections Populations in Rhode Island, and is a former Adjunct Professor in the Administration of Justice program at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI and has served as a volunteer at the Center for Mediation & Collaboration Rhode Island.

Attorney Costa earned her J.D. from New England School of Law in Massachusetts. She graduated with a Masters of Social Work and a Master of Arts in Agency Counseling from Rhode Island College and earned a B.A. in Elementary Education from Stonehill College in Massachusetts. She is also certified as a mediator from the Center for Mediation & Collaboration Rhode Island and holds a certification in negotiations from Harvard School of Law, Harvard Negotiation Institute. Attorney Costa is admitted to practice law in state and federal courts in Rhode Island, and is a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association.

Areas of Practice

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Special Masterships

Bar Admissions

  • Rhode Island, 1992
  • U.S. District Court District of Rhode Island, 1993

Education/Professional Associations

Education

  • New England School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts
    • J.D. – 1992
  • Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island
    • Master of Social Work – 1994
  • Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island
    • Master of Arts, Agency Counseling – 1986
  • Stonehill College, North Easton, Massachusetts
    • B.A. – 1981
    • Major: Elementary Education

Classes/Seminars

  • Harvard School of Law, Harvard Negotiation Institute, 2006
  • Center for Mediation & Collaboration Rhode Island, 2016

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Rhode Island Bar Association
  • Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association

Representative Matters

Serve as a member of the Special Mastership in Prison Monitoring Team for the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, responsible for monitoring prison reform compliance and progress in the implementation of mandatory mental health screening, diagnosis and treatment of prisoners throughout the California prison system.