John P. Ryan

Mr. Ryan is a senior partner at Sloane and Walsh where he has concentrated his practice in the trial and appeal of civil cases since joining the firm in 1980. He is an honors graduate of Boston College and a graduate of Suffolk University Law School where he was the recipient of the Frederick McDermott Memorial Scholarship. Mr. Ryan has tried numerous high exposure jury trials in both state and federal court. His trials have encompassed a wide spectrum of civil disputes including medical malpractice, product liability, general liability, wrongful death, employment discrimination, workplace harassment, legal malpractice, defamation, declaratory judgment, insurance fraud, and bad faith insurance claims practices including alleged violations of G.L. c. 93A and G.L. c. 176D. He has argued appellate cases in the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. A number of Mr. Ryan’s appellate cases have involved questions of first impression in Massachusetts.

Mr. Ryan is a member of the American Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, Rhode Island Bar Association, New Hampshire Bar Association, Norfolk County Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, and the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association where he has served as a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer.

In addition to his trial and appellate practice, Mr. Ryan is frequently asked to serve as a mediator or arbitrator in civil disputes, and he has served as such in well over 1000 cases including such diverse areas as medical malpractice, product liability, construction accidents, commercial disputes, legal malpractice, property damage claims, and insurance coverage disputes including claims of bad faith and violations of G.L. c. 93A and G.L. c. 176D.

Representative mediations have included a $55M legal malpractice claim involving an international marketing agreement for consumer products in South America; a multi‐party damage claim arising out of a chemical facility explosion which destroyed a residential neighborhood resulting in approximately $25M in claims; a multi‐party, multi‐million dollar mediation involving a gasoline truck turnover with a resultant explosion and fire causing severe personal injuries and property damage giving rise to approximately fifty individual claims and lawsuits; environmental liability mediation involving the allocation of responsibilities among parties to a complex environmental remediation agreement which had been entered into by private parties and environmental government agencies; and a multi‐million dollar mediation involving the destruction of an historical Boston church. Mr. Ryan’s mediations have included cases in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Representative arbitrations have included automobile UM claims, automobile liability claims, general liability, wrongful death, insurance coverage disputes, property damage disputes, an errors and omission claim for a negligently designed retirement/investment program, and an errors and omission claim for an alleged failure to secure coverage for an insured.

• Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts, J.D. - 1974 (Recipient, Frederick McDermott Memorial Scholarship)
• Boston College - A.B. (Magna Cum Laude) - 1971

• Member, Massachusetts Bar
• Member, Bar for the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts
• Member, Rhode Island Bar
• Member, Bar for the U.S. Distict Court for Rhode Island
• Member, New Hampshire Bar
• Member, Bar for the U.S. District Court for New Hampshire
• Member, Bar for the United States Court of  Appeals for the First Circuit
• Massachusetts Bar Association
• Rhode Island Bar Association
• New Hampshire Bar Association
• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
• American Bar Association
• Louis D. Brandeis Life Fellow, Massachusetts Bar Foundation
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Norfolk County Bar Association
• Litigation Counsel of America
• Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association (former Member Board of Directors and Treasurer)
• Defense Research Institute
• Member, Board of Trustees, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc., 2013-2019
• Member, Town of Needham Finance Committee, 1995-1998 (Chairman, 1997-1998)
• Town of Needham Government Review Study Committee, 1999-2001 (Vice-Chairman)
• Moderator, Needham Cable Television, “Getting to Know Your Finance Committee” (two part local cable television educational program with panel discussion on governmental function of town Finance Committee), 2004, 2005
• Member and Clerk, Board of Directors, St. Joseph’s Parish School Fund, Inc., 2012 to present
• Recipient of The Massachusetts ABOTA Chapter's James N. Esdaile Civility Award, 2013
• Martindale-Hubbel AV Preeminent peer rating for 35 years.
• Listed each year since 1995 in Best Lawyers in America 
• Selected as a Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America, 2011, 2013 and 2014.

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