Ones to Watch – Commercial Litigation and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Best Lawyers in America 2023
Rising Star – Securities Litigation
Super Lawyers 2020-2023
Profile
Ryan Walsh is an associate in the Orange County office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the Litigation & Trial Department. Mr. Walsh advises clients on complex corporate litigation, with an emphasis on securities litigation.
Mr. Walsh represents both public and private companies and their officers, directors, and special committees in connection with a variety of litigation, white collar, and enforcement matters, including:
General commercial litigation
Securities class actions
Shareholder derivative litigation
Mergers and acquisitions litigation
Proxy contests
SEC enforcement actions and FINRA investigations
High-exposure and high-profile litigation
Mr. Walsh has been recognized as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation by Super Lawyers in 2020-2023. He was named among the Ones to Watch – Commercial Litigation by Best Lawyers in America 2021, and named among the Ones to Watch – Commercial Litigation and Mergers and Acquisitions Law by Best Lawyers in America2023.
While at USC Law School, Mr. Walsh was senior submissions editor of Southern California Law Review. He graduated Order of the Coif. Mr. Walsh also received the James G. Holbrook Award and the American Board of Trial Advocates Excellence in Preparation for Trial Practice Certificate.
Mr. Walsh graduated cum laude and with High Honors from Harvard University with an AB in Economics. His thesis in Economics was selected for archival in the Harvard libraries. Mr. Walsh was also a competitive soccer player for the Crimson.
Experience
Mr. Walsh's experience includes representing:
A director of a prominent gaming company in California state court litigation involving general corporate governance matters
An international conglomerate in civil litigation involving claims under both California and federal law
Directors of a public company in Delaware state court litigation involving claims for breach of fiduciary duties
An individual, on a pro bono basis, in a California state court appeal
A former CEO of a prominent California financial institution in securities class action
A public data storage company and its officers and directors in a securities class action in Nevada federal court, resulting in the dismissal of all claims
Former directors of a payment processing company in Delaware state court litigation following a multi-billion dollar merger
An investment advisor in SEC enforcement investigations relating to trade allocations for client accounts*
A joint venture in commercial arbitration for breach of environmental indemnity agreement relating to the development of one of the largest multi-use developments in Downtown Los Angeles, which resulted in a multi-million dollar arbitration award and defeat of all cross-claims, in addition to the client receiving a multi-million dollar award of fees as prevailing party*
A former officer of a publicly traded resort and gaming company in high-profile securities class action, which resulted in a complete defense victory at summary judgment, and was affirmed on appeal*
A client against the SEC in a high-profile insider trading trial. Verdict was recognized by The Daily Journal as a top defense verdict of 2014*
A client in removal proceedings before Immigration and Customs Enforcement and after trial, the judge granted client asylum*
Mr. Walsh represented clients in a variety of other litigation and enforcement matters, including:
A public company’s officers and directors in a shareholder derivative action regarding the company’s disclosure and compensation practices*
An investment adviser in connection with its internal investigation of cross-trading policies and practices*
A company in a contract and fraud dispute brought by a founder seeking to rescind certain intellectual property rights assigned during the founding of the company*
*Matter handled prior to joining Latham
Thought Leadership
"Counterfactuals in Securities Class Actions: An Illustration Using Third-Party Corrective Disclosures," Houston Business and Tax Law Journal, 2022-2023 Winter Edition
Speaker at The Knowledge Group webcast, "Demystifying the Current Landscape of Securities Litigation: Practical Tips and Strategies You Must Know," Nov. 4, 2020
"A Matter of Life, Death, and Children: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Section 2302 and a Shifting Legal Paradigm," Southern California Law Review (Vol. 86, No. 5), July 2013
"The Ninth Circuit Tights the Screws on Plaintiffs’ Burden to Allege 'Loss Causation' when a Corporation Announces an Internal Investigation," Aug. 28, 2014**
"Attempting to Fix the 'Broken Windows': Recent SEC Enforcement Action Targets Routine Disclosure Obligations of Public Corporations and Their Insiders," Oct. 10, 2014**
"The Naked Truth: The Court in Overstock.com Case Grapples with the Intricacies of Naked Short Sales," Dec. 5, 2014**
"Blowing the Whistle: Ninth Circuit Rejects Narrow Interpretation of Dodd-Franks’ 'Whistleblower' Protections," Mar. 10, 2017**
"Omnicare Extended: The Ninth Circuit Adopts a Heightened Falsity Pleading Standard for Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 Material Misstatement Claims," May 16, 2017**
Guest Lecturer in Securities Regulation, USC Gould School of Law
**Articles published by previous law firm
Qualifications
Bar Qualification
California
Education
JD, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, 2013 Order of the Coif
AB in Economics, Harvard University, 2009 cum laude
Latham teams recognized for litigation wins, including a rare “entire defense” victory on behalf of client Cantor Fitzgerald and the dismissal of almost all claims in a securities class action against Virgin Galactic.
Latham teams honored for knocking out a proposed class action on behalf of CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc. and for securing the dismissal of a shareholder derivative suit for client Switch Inc.
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