Skip to Main Content
Overview

Whether representing clients in commercial litigation or bankruptcy disputes, Ryan is driven by the opportunity to provide clients with cost-efficient solutions to complex legal issues.

A member of Husch Blackwell’s Insolvency team, Ryan assists clients in commercial bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, including general reorganizations, bankruptcy litigation, preference and fraudulent conveyance actions, plan of reorganization treatment and automatic stay relief. Creditors and debtors alike come to Ryan when they are in financial distress. He is sensitive to their difficult circumstances and immerses himself as their advocate. He works diligently to provide debtors a reprieve – time to reassess their business plan and get back to the core of what originally made them a success. For creditors, Ryan seeks the best options to recover or take control of debtors’ assets.

Ryan’s restructuring experience includes clients in the healthcare, transportation, energy and music copyright industries. He also has worked in construction law, including contractor and professional engineering licensing issues and enforcement of mechanic’s lien rights in and outside the bankruptcy arena. 

Also a seasoned litigator with more than seven years of experience, Ryan counsels clients in commercial disputes. He represents secured and unsecured creditors, owners, individuals and corporations in multiple aspects of commercial litigation and has experience in transactions concerning commercial tractors and trailers, industrial equipment, and floor plans. He litigates in both federal and state courts throughout the country.

Prior to joining the firm, Ryan clerked as a legal extern to the Honorable George W. Emerson, Jr., U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Industry

Services

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America
    • Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2022-2025

Education

  • J.D., University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
      • The University of Memphis Law Review, Notes Editor
  • B.S.B.A., University of Tennessee
    • Finance

Admissions

  • Georgia
  • Mississippi
  • Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Mississippi
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Mississippi
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • American Inns of Court, Brock-Cooper Chapter
2024 Pro Bono Contributor
Experience

Bankruptcy

  • Represented creditors in Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcies and adversary proceedings, including defending objections to proofs of claim, non-dischargeability proceedings, Section 363 asset purchases and defending preference actions.
  • Represented individual and corporate debtors in Chapter 11 bankruptcies in the real estate, energy, restaurant and music industries.
  • Represented liquidating trustee or plan administrator in successfully prosecuting over 70 preference actions.
  • Obtained summary judgment in Chapter 7 adversary proceeding on behalf of hotel owner against 76 subcontractor defendants.
  • Represented debtors and creditors in state court receivership proceedings.
  • Assisted Sutter Health in negotiating the acquisition of five radiation oncology centers—arising out of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding—from GenesisCare.

Litigation

  • Secured $1 million judgment in federal bench trial on behalf of janitorial and security service provider.
  • Represented court-appointed receiver in SEC civil action alleging $345 million Ponzi Scheme involving purchase and sale of fictitious consumer debt portfolios.
  • Represented financial institution as national counsel in more than 100 cases nationwide seeking to recover money damages and/or securing collateral.
  • Prevailed on appeal on behalf of court-appointed receiver in dispute with two investor groups who challenged how the receiver's distribution plan allocated recovered funds among claimants.
Outside the Office

Ryan and his wife, Martha, recently welcomed their first child and are growing into their new role as parents. Ryan enjoys playing golf, cheering on the University of Tennessee, exercising with his German Shepherd and traveling.

Community Leadership
  • Ryan worked to resolve an estate dispute involving a lost will and residential property, thus restoring power for a pro bono client who had been without electricity for nearly two months.