Matthew M. Ryan advocates for both plaintiffs and defendants, corporate entities and individual clients alike, in commercial litigation with emphasis on contracts, commercial fraud, and business tort cases, with first- and second-chair experience in pretrial hearings, post-trial hearings, and non-jury trials. Mr. Ryan has also represented corporate entities and individual clients in class action securities fraud lawsuits, construction disputes, and products liability cases. He is a member of the firm's Trial Department, its Commercial Litigation and Securities Litigation groups, and the Appellate Practice group.
Mr. Ryan is actively involved in handling pro bono matters, and he has been recognized by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for his exemplary pro bono work. He has represented indigent tenants in disputes with their landlords in connection with the Community Legal Services of Philadelphia's Landlord-Tenant Municipal Court Program; he has also served as a Settlement Master for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Landlord-Tenant Appellate Mediation Program. He has represented state and federal prisoners in federal civil rights actions through the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Prisoner Civil Rights Panel.
Mr. Ryan has been involved in politics, government, and public service. He has been involved in numerous political campaigns on the federal, state, and local levels. He has also provided legal advice on a pro bono basis to the Committee of Seventy, a Philadelphia-based good-government watchdog organization. Mr. Ryan has been appointed to the Philadelphia Bar Association's Investigative Division of the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention, in connection with which he has researched and made recommendations on candidates for judicial office in Philadelphia. In 2010, he was appointed to serve on the Development Programs Committee of the Boards of Directors of Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He serves on the Delaware County Drug and Alcohol Executive Commission. He volunteers for the Philadelphia Reads "Power Partners" program, which pairs Philadelphia professionals with children from public school classrooms for weekly reading sessions. Mr. Ryan serves on the Editorial Board of The Young Lawyer, a monthly supplement to The Legal Intelligencer.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Ryan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael M. Baylson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ryan is a 2003 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was on the Moot Court Board and served as executive editor of production and associate editor of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law, and he is a 2000 graduate of Villanova University.
In 2009, he was one of only 30 attorneys across Pennsylvania named a "Lawyer on the Fast Track" by the publisher of The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly.
Representative Matters
· Represented Pennsylvania judges before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, securing a ruling that invalidated as unconstitutional legislation that had repealed a prior increase in judicial salaries.
· Served as associate trial counsel representing shareholder of closely held corporation against former officer, director, and minority shareholder of the corporation. Obtained damages award of $4.99 million on the basis of findings of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of shareholders' agreement.
· Represented public company against plaintiffs alleging breach of a warrant to purchase stock valued at many millions of dollars. Obtained summary judgment in client's favor, which was affirmed on appeal.
· Represented a law firm and one of its attorneys in an appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court from a trial court order enforcing a settlement agreement. The superior court affirmed, rejecting the plaintiffs' assertion that an out-of-state collection to attach the settlement proceeds brought by plaintiffs' creditors invalidated the settlement agreement.
· Represented global medical device manufacturer in more than 40 consolidated matters in West Virginia. Claims made by the plaintiffs ranged from improper off-label use of biologics products, illegal kick-backs, fraud and general medical device product liability.
· Represented patent owner and licensee in misappropriation of trade secrets and patent infringement case to enforce patent for wireless soil-monitoring technology that detects and measures the level of salinity and moisture in ground surfaces such as golf course greens.
· Defended two former officers of former public company in four related cases involving claims of various acts of fraud, including a securities fraud class action, and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in connection with the collapse and ultimate bankruptcy and delisting of the company.
· Counseled independent and non-profit research and educational institute on possible registration and reporting obligations under the Pennsylvania Lobbying Disclosure Law.
· Represented state and federal prisoners in civil rights actions (through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Prisoner Civil Rights Panel).
Professional Activities
· Philadelphia Bar Association
- Investigative Division of the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention
- Appellate Courts Committee
-- Third Circuit Judicial Conference Committee
- Federal Courts Committee
- Young Lawyers Division
-- Former Member, Executive Committee
· Delaware County Bar Association
- Judicial Selection Committee
- Secretary, former Treasurer, Guy G. deFuria American Inn of Court
· Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
· Former Associate, University of Pennsylvania Law School American Inn of Court
Experience
· Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Michael M. Baylson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2003-2004
· Duane Morris LLP
- Associate, 2004-present
Civic and Charitable Activities
· Member, Delaware County Drug and Alcohol Executive Commission
· Editorial Board Member, The Young Lawyer (monthly supplement to The Legal Intelligencer)
· Member, The Pennsylvania Society
· Member, Swarthmore Lions Club
· Board Member, Swarthmore Recreation Association
· Chair, Delaware County Young Republicans
· Boards of Directors of Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
- Development Programs Committee
Honors and Awards
· Pennsylvania Rising Star, 2012
· Named to the "Pro Bono Roll of Honor" by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
· Named to 2009 Lawyers on the Fast Track by the Legal Intelligencer
Selected Publications
· Co-author, "Two-Year Statute of Limitations for Federal Securities Fraud Claims Begins to Run When a Reasonably Diligent Plaintiff Would Have Discovered the Violations," Duane Morris Alert, December 19, 2011
· Co-author, "Third Circuit Holds That Pa. Appraisal Statute Does Not Prevent a Dissenting Shareholder from Separately Pursuing Claim for Breach of Fiduciary Duty Post-merger," Duane Morris Alert, September 8, 2011; reprinted in Mondaq Business Briefing
· Co-author, "Circuit Courts Uphold Dismissal of Securities Claims Based on Alleged Fraud in Sale of Auction Rate Securities," Duane Morris Alert, August 3, 2011 (republished in LexisNexis Communities-Litigation Resource Community, Litigation Resource Center and Mondaq Business Briefing)
· Co-author, "Supreme Court Holds Mutual Fund Investment Adviser Not Liable for Misleading Statements in Fund's Prospectus," Duane Morris Alert, June 23, 2011
· Co-author, "Securities Fraud Claims Against Outside Law Firm Could Not Be Certified as Class Action, Third Circuit Determines," Duane Morris Alert, April 5, 2011
· Co-author, "Help Your Attorney Help You," Bloomberg Businessweek, July 21, 2010
Selected Speaking Engagements
· "Effective Brief-Writing and Oral Advocacy, As According to the United States Supreme Court," June 17, 2011
· "Recent Legal Developments of Interest," June 17, 2011
· "A Preview of the 2010-2011 Term at the United States Supreme Court," October 24, 2010
· "The Solomon Amendment: Courting the Military," March 21, 2006