Joshua Xavier is the Founder of XAVIER LAW, a law firm focusing primarily on Employment Law, Civil Rights Law, and Fair Housing Law. 

In his role as an Employment attorney, Joshua represents employees in all areas of Employment Law, including claims relating to: wage and hour violations, discrimination, retaliation, equal pay, leaves of absence, wrongful termination, severance agreements, and unemployment appeals.  

As a Civil Rights and Fair Housing attorney, Joshua handles cases involving the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, false arrest, excessive force, police misconduct, wrongful incarceration, wrongful prosecution, and matters relating to housing discrimination and retaliation.

Joshua was appointed by the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island to serve on the Merit Selection Panel for U.S. Magistrate Judges in 2020 and again in 2024. A Merit Selection Panel, composed of lawyers and community members, plays a vital role in vetting and recommending top candidates for U.S. Magistrate Judge positions to the District Judges for an eight-year term.

In 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island appointed Joshua to serve as Co-Chair of the Court’s biennial Conference.

Joshua has practiced law for over ten (10) years and graduated cum laude from Roger Williams University School of Law. Upon graduating from law school, Joshua served as a Judicial Law Clerk with the Rhode Island Superior Court.

Joshua’s Honors and Awards include recognition from Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly, Rhode Island Monthly, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers.

Joshua prides himself in playing an active role within the community. Joshua is a Founding Board Member of the Rhode Island Center for Justice, a non-profit public interest law center that partners with community groups to strengthen existing advocacy and service provision with legal representation and strategy for low-income populations offering legal services in the areas of⁠ housing, immigration, workers’ rights, criminal justice, education, and utility shutoffs. Additionally, in 2025 and in his capacity as Chair of the Rhode Island Federal Court’s DEI Subcommittee to the Court’s Advisory Council, Joshua launched a mentorship program pairing high school and college students with Judges and Lawyers with the goal to encourage the students to pursue careers in the law.  

Notable Cases:

  • Blackie v. City of Woonsocket et al., Case Number 1:24-cv-00423 (Federal District Court of Rhode Island). Joshua secured a $550,000 settlement on behalf an individual falsely arrested twice, criminally charged, incarcerated for 31 days, and prosecuted for crimes he did not commit, including a felony.
  • Davis-Oke v. National Investments, Ltd. et al., Case Number PC-2018-6012 (Rhode Island Superior Court). Joshua obtained partial summary judgment as to liability on behalf of a disabled tenant whose request for a reasonable accommodation was denied by her landlord. The landlord thereafter evicted the tenant and her family because of the reasonable accommodation the tenant needed, resulting in the tenant and her family becoming homeless.
  • Taylor v. National Investments, Ltd. et al, No. CV 17-117 WES, 2022 WL 306367 (D.R.I. Feb. 2, 2022). Joshua represented a tenant residing in public housing alleging that she was unlawfully discriminated and retaliated against by her landlord.  In a matter of first impression, the Rhode Island Federal District Court determined that in order to establish a prima facie case of retaliation under the Federal and Rhode Island Fair Housing Acts, plaintiffs are not required to establish discriminatory animus on the part of defendants.  Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly included the Taylor case within its list of, “The Most Important Opinions of 2022.”  Furthermore, the Taylor case was included in The Housing and Development Law Institute’s (HDLI) Spring 2022 Legal Conference Review of Case Law. The HDLI is a nationwide non-profit membership organization that serves as a legal resource for stakeholders in the affordable and public housing industry. HDLI is the only national organization solely addressing the legal, rather than the policy or administrative, issues facing public housing and redevelopment agencies.
  • Munsif et al. v. U.T.G.R. Inc. d/b/a Twin River, No. CV 16-387 (D.R.I. 2016). Joshua served as plaintiffs’ counsel on behalf of seventy-two (72) employees alleging failure to pay overtime wages in a Collective Action arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act, resulting in a settlement in excess of $750,000.