Overview

Joelle C. Rocha is a trial and appellate attorney with nearly two decades of experience litigating real estate, land use, and municipal law disputes in Rhode Island and Massachusetts state and federal courts. She is Senior Counsel and Co-Chair of the Real Estate and Land Use Practice Group at Adler Pollock & Sheehan, P.C.

Joelle represents developers, property owners, businesses, in real estate development disputes, zoning and permitting appeals, land use litigation, construction and contract disputes, lawsuits related to unlawful governmental actions and complex multi-party commercial litigation. She has argued before the Rhode Island Supreme Court, including on multiple issues of first impression, and has litigated class actions that recovered more than $1,000,000 for business and property owners charged unlawful municipal fees.

From 2022-2026, Joelle served as Legal and Policy Advisor to the Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, drafting and analyzing major land use and housing legislation during the 2023–2026 legislative sessions, work that produced some of the most significant changes to Rhode Island land use law in decades.

Credentials

Roger Williams University School of Law, J.D.
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, B.A., summa cum laude

Rhode Island
Massachusetts
U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
U.S. Supreme Court

Best Lawyers’ 2027 Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Land Use and Zoning, Providence.
Best Lawyers’ 2026 Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Land Use and Zoning, Providence.
Listed in Chambers USA, Litigation: General Commercial, Rhode Island, 2025
Professional Excellence in the Law, Environmental and Land Use, Rhode Island Monthly 2019 – 2026.
Recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Land Use and Zoning, Litigation – Real Estate, Providence, 2022-Present
Rhode Island Bar Association, Fellow
Garnered the Rhode Island Bar Association Lauren E. Jones, Esq. Writing Award for co-authoring the Rhode Island Bar Journal article “Seismic Changes to RI’s Land Use Laws: What You Need to Know,” 2024
Named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers, General Litigation, Providence, 2011
Named among “Forty Under 40” by Providence Business News
Garnered “Excellence in the Law” distinction and the “Outstanding Women in Business” award from Rhode Island Monthly