Professor DePianto's work applies economic insights, both classical and behavioral, to active issues in tort and the study of social norms. A number of his ongoing projects explore the implications of subjective well-being (or "happiness") research to the area of tort damages. Professor DePianto's work has appeared, or is forthcoming in, the Arizona State Law Journal, Law and Psychology Review, Social Science Research, and The Research Handbook on the Economics of Torts.

Prior to arriving at the College of Law, DePianto received his Ph.D. from the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, he was an Olin Fellow in Law and Economics and the recipient of an Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor award. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an associate editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. DePianto practiced law at Cooley Godward (now Cooley LLP).