Graham H.
Ryan

Position: Partner
Office: New Orleans

Graham Ryan is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group and a member of the commercial dispute resolution team and appellate team. Graham litigates complex business disputes in federal and state courts and in regulatory proceedings for a cross-industry national client base. He serves as co-chair of Jones Walker’s hiring committee and leads several professional, civic, and charitable organizations.

Graham has extensive experience litigating complex commercial disputes in all stages of litigation, appeals, arbitration, and regulatory proceedings. He is a trusted advisor for clients in the technology, banking, energy, construction, and healthcare industries in developing and executing litigation strategies designed to achieve client business objectives. Graham’s practice focus includes:

Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Graham litigates complex commercial, appellate, and regulatory disputes, including those involving technology, artificial intelligence (AI), Section 230, and related matters. Graham is a nationally recognized authority on AI legal issues. His paper, "Generative AI Will Break the Internet: Beyond Section 230" was published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, and he has been quoted on AI legal risk in publications like The Wall Street Journal. Graham serves on the firm’s Technology Industry Team and holds an international designation as an Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (International Association of Privacy Professionals). He is currently pursuing an LLM in Artificial Intelligence Law and Regulation from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Business and Contract Disputes

Graham represents business interests and individuals in high-stakes commercial disputes involving breach of contract, business torts, fiduciary duties, fraud and unfair competition, and other rights and obligations arising from business relationships. Understanding the importance of litigation-related decisions for businesses, he advises clients on proactive, pre-litigation risk assessment regarding interpretation of contractual provisions, remedies, damages, indemnity, and related matters.

Banking and Financial Institution Litigation

He represents large financial institutions in a variety of litigation including Uniform Commercial Code issues, lender liability, negligence claims, account disputes, fiduciary duty claims, check fraud and forgery claims, unauthorized funds-transfer claims, and related matters.

Real Estate, Construction, and Government Contracts

Graham represents businesses in disputes arising from the ownership, development, construction, and use of real property, including construction disputes, purchase agreements, commercial leases, accessibility and ADA compliance, premises liability, and owners association issues. He also represents clients in disputes related to public contracts, public procurement, and public bid, with trial-ready strategies to protest public contract solicitations.

Appellate and Regulatory Appeals

He is an experienced federal and state appellate attorney and a member of the firm’s appellate team. Graham has litigated appeals at each level of state and federal courts in Louisiana. He also represents clients in proceedings before federal and state agencies, including an active practice before the US Small Business Administration Office of Hearing and Appeals. Graham has also developed a focus on pretrial strategy and has successfully resolved many complex cases through summary judgment and dispositive relief in advance of trial.

First Amendment and Constitutional Law

Graham has litigated First Amendment free speech and commercial speech issues, and he represents clients in matters pertaining to open government, public records laws, and professional ethics. He has also advised on interpretation and proposed revisions to the Louisiana Constitution.

Before joining Jones Walker, Graham served as a judicial extern for the Louisiana Supreme Court. Graham is a graduate of the LSU Law Center, where he served on the Louisiana Law Review and led several student organizations. He also studied law at Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 in France, where he received an award for his studies on constitutional law.

Graham is an active member of the legal profession and community on the local, statewide, and national levels. He has served in leadership positions in numerous organizations, including the Board of Governors of the Louisiana State Bar Association, Louisiana State Law Institute, American Bar Association, New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel, and Jefferson Bar Association, among many others. He was elected to represent Louisiana in the American Bar Association House of Delegates, which establishes national policy on issues pertaining to the legal profession and the public. Graham regularly presents legal education seminars to professional and industry groups.

In his community, Graham is active in many civic and charitable organizations. He was named a fellow of the Loyola Institute of Politics and a fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation and is a graduate of several leadership institutes including Leadership Louisiana and the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute. Graham was named a “Top 40 Young Lawyer” in the United States by the American Bar Association (2018), chosen for Gambit’s “40 Under 40” List (2018), and selected to the 2020 Leadership in Law Class by New Orleans CityBusiness. He also leads several access-to-justice initiatives, serving as a board member and volunteer attorney with The Pro Bono Project and as volunteer with the homeless and veteran population in New Orleans through Project H.E.L.P. (Homeless Experience Legal Protection). Graham served a three-year term leading Louisiana’s Disaster Legal Services program, providing legal assistance to thousands of Louisianans following a presidentially declared disasters.