Antony L.
Ryan

Mr. Ryan’s cases have included:

• Robinhood Markets, Inc.:  He currently represents Robinhood in dozens of class actions centralized in multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Southern District of Florida. These actions involve securities, antitrust, negligence, contract and various other claims arising out of Robinhood’s decision to temporarily restrict trading in certain securities in the face of unprecedented market volatility.
• Dfinity Foundation:  He currently represents Dfinity, an international organization developing blockchain technology, in purported class action securities litigation filed in California state and federal court related to the issuance of Dfinity’s Internet Computer Project (“ICP”) master governance tokens.
• AIG: He represented PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) in actions relating to AIG’s 2005 restatement of its financial statements and a separate set of actions relating to AIG’s credit default swaps and the federal government’s 2008 support package. These matters included government investigations and cases in the Southern District of New York, the Second Circuit, as well as state trial and appeals courts in California, Delaware and New York.

• Bear Stearns: He represented Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”) in various actions relating to the liquidation of Bear Stearns hedge funds as well as the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan in 2008, in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit.

• Madoff Funds: He represented PricewaterhouseCoopers Ireland (“PwC Ireland”) in securities class actions in the Southern District of Florida and the Southern District of New York involving investment funds audited by PwC Ireland that lost money in Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Both actions were dismissed, and the dismissals were affirmed on appeal in the Eleventh and Second Circuits.

• Mr. Ryan has represented corporations and accounting firms in Department of Justice (“DOJ”), Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) investigations. He has specific expertise in representing foreign defendants in U.S. litigation.

Mr. Ryan has extensive experience in securities litigation. He has been named to The Legal 500 Hall of Fame for his work in the field, and has been recommended by the publication for his appellate work. In 2011, he was recognized by Law360 as one of five securities lawyers under 40 to watch. He has also been recognized for his work in securities litigation by Chambers USA. He has been selected by Lawdragon as one of “500 Leading Litigators in America” and one of “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” and was named a nationwide “Legend” in 2023. Mr. Ryan has also been repeatedly recognized by Benchmark Litigation, including as a “National Star” in securities litigation.

Mr. Ryan is often involved in defending securities class actions on behalf of corporations and accounting firms. From 2015 to 2017, he won the dismissal of four securities class actions and two False Claims Act cases. He also has experience in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) investigations, including representing a U.S. corporation in investigations into business dealings with Chinese state‑owned entities.

Mr. Ryan is actively involved in mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) litigation. Those cases have included:

• The Williams Companies Inc.: He represents Williams as lead trial counsel in M&A litigation before the Delaware Court of Chancery related to a planned $37.7 billion merger with Energy Transfer Equity (“ETE”). Following a six‑day trial in May 2021, the court awarded Williams a $410 million contractual termination fee, plus interest and reasonable attorneys’ fees, in connection with the now‑terminated combination with ETE.  He has also handled several shareholder actions in the Delaware Court of Chancery and Delaware Supreme Court.

• Alliant Techsystems, Inc. v. MidOcean Bushnell Holdings, L.P.: He represented Vista Outdoor, Inc. (“Vista”), as successor to ATK, in a purchase price adjustment dispute. The Delaware Court of Chancery ruled for Vista that the claims were properly brought as a purchase price adjustment dispute rather than as claims for indemnification.

Mr. Ryan also has experience in representing companies in purchase price adjustment arbitrations, including disputes involving complex accounting issues and significant dollar amounts.

Mr. Ryan is also regularly involved in antitrust litigation. Those cases have included:

• Epic Games, Inc.:  He currently represents Epic Games in its Ninth Circuit appeal against Apple on Sherman Act claims alleging anticompetitive behavior in the distribution of mobile apps and the handling of in‑app payments, and Apple’s cross‑appeal from a nationwide permanent injunction entered by the district court against Apple’s anti‑steering policies.
• Qualcomm Inc.: He has represented Qualcomm in a series of actions in the Northern and Southern Districts of California relating to Qualcomm’s licensing practices and its position in the market for selling baseband processors. These matters include, among others, winning a complete defense victory for Qualcomm before the Ninth Circuit in a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission. He also represented Qualcomm in claims and counterclaims against Apple, Inc., as well as a matter against Apple before the International Trade Commission, which was tried in September 2018. In April 2019, Apple and Qualcomm reached a global settlement that includes a payment from Apple to Qualcomm; the companies also reached a six‑year license agreement and a multiyear chipset supply agreement.

• Time Inc.: He represented Time Inc. in an antitrust action brought by a wholesaler against magazine publishers and distributors alleging a group boycott with over $1 billion in damages. The Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to defendants, and the decision was affirmed on appeal in the Second Circuit.

Mr. Ryan maintains an active pro bono practice and serves as the Pro Bono Partner. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Volunteers of Legal Service, for which he serves as Secretary‑Treasurer, and of The Legal Aid Society. In 2011, he received a Pro Bono Publico Award from The Legal Aid Society for helping to win an Article 440 petition in New York Supreme Court to vacate the wrongful conviction of a client who spent 14 years in prison for second‑degree murder. The decision was affirmed on appeal, and the charges against his client were dropped. Mr. Ryan also received multiple Pro Bono Publico Awards for his work, together with Legal Aid and the Urban Justice Center, leading a class action against New York State and City agencies seeking pre‑release planning and transitional services for parolees with serious mental illness. He also obtained a writ of mandamus from the Second Circuit in a Section 1983 case on behalf of a prison inmate, in a decision establishing the legal standard for implied waiver of the psychotherapist‑patient privilege.

Mr. Ryan co‑edited the book and co‑authored the U.S. chapter in several editions of Getting the Deal Through: Securities Litigation (Law Business Research). He also has authored law review articles on civil procedure and patent law.

Mr. Ryan was raised in Amherst, Massachusetts. He received a B.A. summa cum laude from Yale University in 1992, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1995, where he was Supervising Editor of the Law Review, and oralist on the winning team in the Ames Moot Court Competition. Following graduation, Mr. Ryan served as a law clerk to Hon. Judith W. Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Mr. Ryan joined Cravath in 1996 and was elected a partner in 2002.