Sophie R. Bellacosa
Sophie Bellacosa is an associate at the firm and active as part of the business law and M&A teams.
Sophie has played an instrumental role in several significant deals including leading the due diligence for a multi-faceted transaction involving a major cannabis software company in the successful sale of substantially all of its assets to a subsidiary of a public corporation. Specifically, she led the Rhode Island seller-side due diligence for the multi-state merger of two of its cannabis dispensary subsidiaries as well as assisted with the antitrust filings for the premerger notification to the FTC and DOJ.
She also led the due diligence — which included review of government defense contracts and obtaining regulatory approvals — for a transaction where the firm successfully represented a private defense contractor in the acquisition of its business.
Active in the community, Sophie is a board member of the Community Boating Center, whose mission is to make sailing affordable and accessible in RI. She is former board member for the Young Professionals Committee of the Rhode Island Society of CPAs.
Prior to joining the firm, she clerked at Duffy & Sweeney, worked as a legal extern for the Executive Counsel in the Office of the Governor, completed two summer internships at local law firms, and achieved certification as a mediator.
Sophie Bellacosa was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in 2022, 2023 and 2024 in the practice area of Business/Corporate. She was included in Ones to Watch by Best Lawyers for 2025 in the practice area of Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law.
Active in the community, Sophie is a board member of the Community Boating Center, whose mission is to make sailing affordable and accessible in RI. She is former board member for the Young Professionals Committee of the Rhode Island Society of CPAs.
She completed a for-credit internship where she served as a victim advocate for the Women’s Resource Center, working with domestic-abuse victims, advocating on their behalf at arraignments to either obtain or remove protective orders against defendants.
An avid sailing enthusiast, Sophie was a member of the Varsity Sailing Team at Roger Williams University where she helped lead her team to win the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA), Coed-Dinghy Team Race National Championship in 2011. She was named to the ICSA All-American First Team in 2012 and inducted into the Roger Williams Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.
Sophie authored “2016 Survey of Rhode Island Case Law, Am. Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Mardo,” in the Roger Williams Law Review which dealt with real property rights involving a dispute over permission for a Newport condo owner to build an addition.
My Blog & News Posts
- Congratulations to D&S Attorneys Named Super Lawyers & Rising Stars 2024Congratulations to firm attorneys named to Super Lawyers and to Super Lawyers Rising Stars for 2024. Super Lawyers: 🏆Joshua Celeste: Mergers & Acquisitions, Real Estate, Business & …
- Lawyers of Year & Best Lawyers & Ones to Watch for 2025Congratulations to Stacey Nakasian and Josh Celeste who were named Lawyer-of-the-Year in the practice area of Litigation – Trusts and Estates and Closely Held Companies …
- DOES THE NEW FTC NON-COMPETE BAN IMPACT MY M&A DEAL? NO & YES.By Michael Sweeney & Sophie Bellacosa | On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its final Non-Compete Clause Rule (the Final Rule), …
- Sophie Bellacosa Added to Community Boating BoardCongratulations to Sophie Bellacosa who was named to the Community Boating Center Board of Directors. The organization is dedicated to making learning to sail and recreational …
Education
Roger Williams University School of Law (J.D. 2018)
Completion of mediation training course and obtained a mediation certificate.
Roger Williams University (B.S. Legal Studies 2013)
Dean’s List, Spring 2011 – Spring 2013
Roger Williams University Athletics Hall of Fame, 2017 Inductee
Bar
Massachusetts (2018)
Rhode Island (2020)