Hon. John Andrew Dorsey

Hon. John A. Dorsey is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Rhode Island in Providence, appointed to the bench on Sept. 9, 2025. Prior to his judicial appointment, he was a court-appointed receiver and special master in the Rhode Island Superior Court and numerous municipal courts throughout the state, where he preserved and repositioned distressed businesses for the benefit of creditors across a wide range of industries — including health care facilities, nursing homes, retail complexes, restaurants and technology companies. Judge Dorsey served on the Rhode Island Superior Court Business Calendar Receivership Committee and in 2020 was appointed as a program coordinator for the Rhode Island Superior Court COVID-19 Business Recovery Program. He also designed and piloted an innovative public nuisance receivership program to address blighted and abandoned properties statewide, and was appointed as a Commissioner by both the Rhode Island Superior Court and the U.S. District Court in matters involving court-supervised real estate sales. His broader practice encompassed environmental remediation, land use development, tax credits, title matters, and construction and business litigation. Judge Dorsey was recognized as a “Rising Star” in real estate law by Super Lawyers from 2015-23 and received the Excellence in the Law (Bankruptcy) distinction from Rhode Island Monthly in 2024. He received his B.S. in management in 2007 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his J.D. in 2010 from Roger Williams University School of Law.