Mark R. DiOrio

Background

DiOrio's formal education moved from Colgate University in upstate New York to Duke University School of Law in North Carolina. His professional life then became centered in Massachusetts, where he was admitted to the bar in 1989 and built most of his career in Boston's commercial real estate sector.

Boston's commercial real estate and legal communities provided the setting for his later work. Its older law firms, real estate developers, and bar associations shaped the practice areas in which he worked for the rest of his career.

Education

DiOrio earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Colgate University in 1980. Colgate, located in Hamilton, New York, traces its origins to 1819, when it was founded as the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution, and it developed into a private liberal arts college.

He received a Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law in 1988. The law school traces its origins to 1868, when a law department was established at Trinity College in North Carolina, the institution that later became Duke University.

Admission to the Massachusetts bar in 1989 followed his legal education and linked his training to the Boston practice that became central to his career.

Career

DiOrio was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1989. Before joining Bulfinch, he was an attorney with Ropes & Gray, a Boston law firm founded in 1865 by John Codman Ropes and John Chipman Gray, both Harvard Law graduates. The firm developed bankruptcy, labor, and securities-related practices during the twentieth century, and by the 1960s it had grown to nearly 75 attorneys. DiOrio practiced real estate law there for nearly a decade.

He also held several management positions at the New York Telephone Company, the New York operating company of the Bell telephone system that later became part of Verizon. These positions preceded his move to the commercial real estate sector.

Bulfinch describes itself as a third-generation commercial real estate firm specializing in the acquisition, development, repositioning, and management of properties. DiOrio joined Bulfinch in 1997 and has spent more than two decades overseeing the company's legal affairs, while also playing important roles in asset management and development.

During his years at Bulfinch, the firm moved from predominantly suburban office properties toward urban properties, which he helped carry out. He oversaw legal work on the company's Cambridge developments and worked on complex permitting and approval processes for development projects in several markets. He was later promoted to Managing Director and General Counsel and was subsequently designated General Counsel Emeritus by the company.

Achievements

• DiOrio helped execute Bulfinch's strategic portfolio transition from predominantly suburban office properties to a portfolio in which urban properties made up more than 80 percent, with most current tenants in the life science and healthcare industries.

• He contributed legal work on the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's proposed storm water regulations, which govern how runoff from developed land is managed.

Membership

DiOrio belongs to several legal and real estate organizations. The American Bar Association is the national professional association of lawyers, while the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association serve attorneys practicing in Massachusetts and Boston. The Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts focuses on lawyers handling real estate transactions and related legal questions.

He is also affiliated with NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, a trade organization of commercial real estate developers and owners. His civic service includes a term on the Board of Visitors of Hillyer College at the University of Hartford, a university college advisory body, from 2012 to 2016. He also served as a committee member of the City of Cambridge Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Task Force.

• American Bar Association , United States

• Massachusetts Bar Association , United States

• Boston Bar Association , United States

• Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts , United States

• NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association , United States

• Board of Visitors of Hillyer College, University of Hartford , United States

  2012 - 2016

• Committee member

  City of Cambridge Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Task Force , United States

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• Eric D. Schlager, Bulfinch's chief executive officer, publicly praised DiOrio's proactive leadership, his strategic role in the company's growth, and his contributions to Bulfinch's business processes and corporate culture when announcing his expanded role.

References

• Bulfinch's Mark DiOrio, Managing Director and General Counsel, Awarded Boston Real Estate Times' Excellence in Commercial Real Estate Law 2022 Company announcement describing DiOrio's 2022 Boston Real Estate Times award and his responsibilities overseeing complex permitting, approvals, and strategic planning at Bulfinch.
  2022
• Bulfinch Promotes Mark DiOrio to the Position of Managing Director and General Counsel Report on DiOrio's expanded role at Bulfinch, his years of service with the company, and his education and professional memberships.
• Mark DiOrio: A Passion for Real Estate & Commitment to Enhancing Communities Profile covering DiOrio's career at Bulfinch, his earlier practice at Ropes & Gray, his honors, and his board service at Hillyer College.