Comprehensive Legal Representation & Guidance for Financial Institutions

Joseph M. DiOrio, Esquire recently merged his financial institutions practice with Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC (“PLDO”) to create a Banking and Creditor’s Rights practice that provides comprehensive legal representation to a diverse group of financial institutions in this region, including national, regional and local banks, bank holding companies, thrifts and other financial services providers.

Services include sophisticated commercial transactions, asset-based commercial and real estate loans, foreclosures, workouts, debt restructuring and bankruptcy. PLDO provides legal representation and guidance for all types of business matters, as well as assist clients in resolving complex legal issues confronted by financial institutions. Our attorneys are all experienced and highly skilled in protecting the rights of secured and unsecured creditors and the scope of  clients being represented includes lenders, landlords in addressing the rights of creditors in commercial disputes from the negotiation stage through commercial litigation, arbitration and mediation.

Chairing this Practice is Attorney Joe DiOrio, who has more than 40 years of experience and has been recognized by his peers as an AV rated attorney, receiving numerous honors for representing financial institutions located in the northeast. His expertise in resolving business disputes is well recognized by his clients and peers and during the course of his career he has  represented a myriad of banking and business clients as creditors in bankruptcies and in other instances of default by borrowers. He is also 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.

What sets PLDO apart is team-oriented approach and interdisciplinary collaboration to developing creative and cost-effective solutions for complex business and legal issues. We leverage the expertise of attorneys in the firm’s other practice areas to offer a full range of services to banks and financial institutions, including employment law, real estate & commercial lending, corporate & business solutions, litigation, and estate and trust administration/litigation.

For more information about our Banking and Creditor’s Rights Practice, please contact us at 401-824-5100 or email [email protected].  

Representative Matters:

Attorney DiOrio was appointed trustee in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Microfibres, Inc. which had ownership interests in companies in Belgium and Hong Kong (which owned the majority stake in a manufacturing company in China). The local property covered in excess of 300,000 square feet of space on 10.2 acres in Pawtucket. The North Carolina plant consisted of over 300,000 square feet of space. A Mississippi warehouse was also part of the estate. The former manufacturer and distributor of upholstery fabrics closed both its Pawtucket facility, which had 57 employees, and its larger North Carolina branch, with 125 workers. Attorney DiOrio successfully sold the business to a company based in Turkey, defended and settled a class action WARN Act claim and, ultimately, paid a dividend of 83.93% to unsecured creditors.

Attorney DiOrio served as co-counsel in the Narraganset Clothing Company Chapter 11 case which involved retail leases in 28 locations and the sale of an ongoing business.

Attorney DiOrio has played active roles in numerous other bankruptcies and receiverships in various capacities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Attorney DiOrio served as local counsel to the Creditors Committee in a 26 store grocery chain in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.