Overview
Ryan focuses his practice on defending clients in complex, high stakes, multi-million-dollar litigation involving catastrophic injury and commercial disputes.
Before joining the firm in 2024, Ryan handled many civil litigation cases from their inception in various personal injury and first-party contract disputes. Since joining the firm, Ryan primarily works in Pretzel & Stouffer’s “drop-in” practice, often associating in and taking over the defense of complicated, high exposure cases at the request of clients shortly before trial.
Ryan has represented clients in complex civil litigation matters involving construction accidents and defects, transportation accidents, personal injury, premises liability, negligent hiring, retention and supervision of employees, vicarious liability, and various contract disputes.
Ryan earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois Chicago, where he served as the Vice President of the Celtic Law Association. Additionally, Ryan spent a semester as a student attorney at the UIC John Marshall’s Patent Legal Clinic providing legal assistance to clients, walking them through the patent process with their inventions. Ryan was also a member of the Entertainment & Sports Law Society, American Bar Association, and Chicago Bar Association.
Ryan was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, where he went on to win two state championships in football at Boylan Catholic. Ryan continued his football career at the University of St. Francis, where he held an ambassador role on the Board of Saints and studied political science. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys watching the Chicago Bears and Cubs, and taking long walks with his wife and two dogs.
Education:
- University of St. Francis, 2017, cum laude
- University of Illinois Chicago Law, 2021
Bar Admissions:
- Illinois
- Northern District of Illinois
Related Practices
Professional Experience
Professional Experience:
2023: Prosecuted a replevin action on behalf of a client, seeking the recovery of their property wrongfully detained, and successfully won at bench trial, while prevailing against counterclaims for breach of contract.
2023: On behalf of a client, prosecuted an action to pierce the corporate veil against a Defendant corporation and its owner, and successfully won on a motion for summary judgment on all counts.
2023: Defended an insurance carrier against a condo association in a breach of contract dispute seeking in excess of a million dollars in damages, and effectively negotiated an extremely favorable settlement for the client.
2023: Defended an insurance carrier against its insured in a first-party property dispute, and successfully resolved the case at mediation, resulting in a favorable outcome for the client.
2022-23: On behalf of insurance carriers, successfully obtained judgments, totaling in excess of $1 million, against tow companies in the greater Chicagoland area.