Johnston, RI – June 18, 2024 – Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC (PLDO) is proud to announce that Regina M. Costa, Partner, was admitted to the United States Supreme Court Bar. Attorney Costa and fellow New England Law | Boston alumni were sworn in during a special ceremony in Washington, D.C.
“To be able to practice law in the nation’s highest court is a tremendous accomplishment and to be recognized and sworn in by the U.S. Supreme Court Justices is one of the greatest honors of my career,” said Attorney Costa.
Attorney Costa concentrates her practice as a member of the firm’s Special Mastership in Prison Monitoring 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 34,000 mentally ill prisoners throughout 28 institutions within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and three of California’s Department of State Hospitals.
“Not only is Regina a highly accomplished civil rights lawyer and public servant, but she has a proven ability to resolve complex legal matters for our clients and ensure the fair treatment for all people, particularly for those less fortunate,” said Matthew A. Lopes Jr., Managing Principal. “On behalf of our entire firm, we congratulate Regina on her well-deserved achievement.”
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.
Attorney 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. She is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Children’s Friend Foundation.
Attorney Costa earned her J.D. from New England School of Law in Massachusetts. She graduated with a Master 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 certificate in negotiations from Harvard School of Law, Harvard Negotiation Institute. In addition to being admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of the United States, she is licensed in both Rhode Island’s state and federal courts, and is a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association.
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