Andy Ryan joined Diamond McCarthy in May of 2005. Andy is a trial attorney who handles all types of complex commercial litigation, with a special emphasis on insurance coverage and subrogation matters. Andy has also represented clients in oil and gas disputes, real estate litigation, employment matters, breach of contract, and other business disputes.

Andy's representations include:

• Part of Diamond McCarthy trial team that won a verdict of a $65 million dividend and over $2 million in additional damages for a minority shareholder after a six-week jury trial. Andy's role at trial included examination of numerous witnesses, as well as the lead role on evidentiary and jury charge issues.
  
  
• Lead counsel in successful prosecution of subrogation lawsuit on behalf of a London-based insurer against an American co-insurer who refused to defend and indemnify the insured. The defendant settled on the eve of depositions, with Andy's client receiving a payment equal to nearly 90% of its damages;
  
  
• Lead trial attorney who obtained a dismissal of an $87 million breach of contract suit in California federal court on behalf of a Texas-based beverage packing company.
  
  
• Lead associate in successful prosecution of a national real estate developer's breach of contract claim in arbitration, where Diamond McCarthy's client was awarded over $3.5 million in damages;
  
  
• Lead associate representing a large Texas-based real estate company in multiple disputes with its tenants related to the construction and interpretation of commercial leases;
  
  
• Lead appellate attorney in successful representation of an employee who alleges he was wrongfully terminated for refusing to participate in a corporate fraud. See, e.g., Velazquez v. LandCoast Insulation, Inc., -- So. 2d ---, 2008 WL 5159202 (La. Ct. App. 3d Cir. Dec. 10, 2008); (Download PDF)
  
  
• Lead associate in prosecution of a declaratory judgment action on behalf of a large Texas oil and gas partnership against its contractors, subcontractors and vendors;
  
  
• Lead associate in prosecution of a declaratory judgment action concerning the construction and validity of an oil and gas lease in Johnson County, Texas;
  
  
• Lead associate in prosecution of a derivative lawsuit on behalf the shareholders of a national Tequila retailer against the company's officers and directors, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of corporate opportunity, and theft of intellectual property;
  
  
• Lead associate in defending a national and international e-mail software manufacturer and marketer in a temporary injunction lawsuit alleging theft and misappropriation of trade secrets;
  
  
• Lead associate in defending an American mortgage lender in a Texas lawsuit that sought to declare the mortgage lien invalid, including representing the lender on its successful appeal.

Andy received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Iowa, where he was the national debate champion in 2001. For his success, Andy received the Virginia Stafford Scholarship, the John Harrison Scholarship, the Paul Reese Slappey Scholarship, and the Lowden Oratorical Prize. Baylor Law School awarded Andy the Leon Jaworski Scholarship for Outstanding Advocates in 2002, and Andy received his J.D. from Baylor Law in 2005. While at Baylor, Andy won the law school's moot court competition, was elected to the Order of Barristers, placed second in the Texas Administrative Law Moot Court Competition, and placed third nationally in the American Trial Lawyer Association's Mock Trial Competition. Andy was also awarded the Claude O. Williams Award for Excellence in Oral Advocacy, and the Abner V. McCall Award for mastery of the law of evidence.

Andy is licensed to practice in Texas and is admitted to practice before the Northern District of Texas. Andy is also a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Bar Association, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, and the American Bar Association. Andy is active in a variety of professional and community organizations, including the North Texas Association of Insurance Counsel, the St. Thomas More Society of Dallas, the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, and the Dallas Urban Debate League.

Andy has also written and spoken on a variety of topics, including the following:

• Speaker and author, Pleading to Keep Your Promise: Litigation Tactics Concerning Insurance Coverage for Breaches of Contract, presented to the North Texas Association on Insurance Counsel (Feb. 2007) (with Greg Taylor); (Download Article in PDF)
  
  
• Speaker, Planning Ahead: Thoughts on Successful Strategies in Co-Insurer Disputes, presented at the Old Library at Lloyd's of London (April 2008) (with Skip Scott and Greg Taylor); (Download Presentaton in PPT)
  
  
• Co-Author, When the Extraordinary Becomes Ordinary: Is the Express Negligence Rule Under Attack in Texas?, 60 BAYLOR L. REV. 942 (2008). (Download Article in PDF)
  
  
• Co-Author, Debating Third-Party Policy Deadlines: Why Texas Should Equitably Toll an Insured's Claim for Breach of the Duty to Defend, BAYLOR L. REV. (Spring 2009).