Diane Finkle was appointed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island on September 6, 2012, and retired effective September 8, 2025. Prior to her appointment, Judge Finkle practiced for 30 years in the field of bankruptcy and state receivership law with the firm of Winograd Shine Land & Finkle, P.C. She began her career as a law clerk to Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Thomas F. Kelleher in 1981. Judge Finkle represented debtors, secured creditors, and creditors’ committees in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases and served as counsel to bankruptcy trustees. In addition, Judge Finkle served as a court-appointed receiver for various manufacturing, service, and retail businesses and commercial and residential real estate developments in numerous state court receivership proceedings. Judge Finkle is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and formerly a member of the Committee on Debtor and Creditor Rights of the Rhode Island Bar Association. Judge Finkle is recognized for her expertise in commercial insolvency matters amongst her peers and had been continually listed in the Best Lawyers editions for Rhode Island Bankruptcy and Insolvency practitioners since 2007. She has also been recognized for her expertise in such practice areas in Super Lawyers, New England Edition. 

Judge Finkle also provided legal and other services on a volunteer pro bono basis, and was honored for such volunteer services in 2008 with a Partners in Philanthropy Award from the Rhode Island Chapter of the Association of Professional Fund Raisers.

Judge Finkle attended Colorado University at Boulder and the University of Rhode Island, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She received her law degree from George Washington National Law Center at George Washington University in 1981, graduating with highest honors. She is admitted to the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Bars and is a member of the American Bar and the Rhode Island Bar Associations, the Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Turnaround Management Association. She previously served on the Rhode Island Bankruptcy Court Local Rules Committee and as Chairperson of the Rhode Island Disciplinary Board.