Daniel Ryan has a diverse commercial litigation practice. He is recognized and distinguished for his strategic ability to successfully and aggressively resolve business disputes, particularly in matters tried in federal courts and through arbitration. His technical background includes a unique combination of capabilities in class action lawsuits, corporate disputes, employee benefits litigation, consumer fraud, health care litigation, employment discrimination, uniform commercial code matters and corporate dissolutions.

Mr. Ryan’s business litigation practice is nationally focused, with his cases venued throughout the country. In addition to various arbitration forums, he has represented his clients before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits, the Illinois and Indiana Appellate Courts, the United States District Courts in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, South Dakota, California, Colorado, Minnesota and Florida, the EEOC, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Mr. Ryan has tried numerous cases, both jury and non-jury. His practice also entails a substantial number of matters involving alternative dispute resolution, both mediation and arbitration.

Mr. Ryan also possesses a substantial capability in the area of “special remedies.” He has obtained injunctive relief in business disputes involving hospitals, health care plans, limited liability companies, and corporate dissolutions. Mr. Ryan concentrates a significant amount of his practice in the areas of non-competition agreements, fidelity and surety matters, along with directors and officers liability.

Mr. Ryan devotes a significant part of his practice to employee benefits litigation, both ERISA and non-ERISA. He has represented employee benefit plans and fiduciaries in court litigation and arbitration, including trials and appeals. Mr. Ryan’s employee benefits litigation experience includes defense of claims for benefits, breach of fiduciary duty claims and reporting and disclosure claims. A special feature of Mr. Ryan’s practice is his representation of a wide variety of clients, including major automobile and truck manufacturers, financial institutions and credit unions, finance companies, real estate developers and several nationally prominent insurance companies. Because of his diverse experience, he is able to quickly achieve a substantial understanding of a client’s business and to adapt to numerous different and frequently changing situations.

Examples of matters Mr. Ryan has handled include:

• Favorable verdicts in employee discrimination suits.
• Favorable jury verdicts in bad faith claims handling cases.
• Various health, life and disability cases (both ERISA and non-ERISA).
• Consumer fraud litigation.
• Obtaining injunctive relief in various disputes involving ownership interests in closely held corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships.
• Prosecution and defense of claims relating to restrictive covenants, tortious interference and misappropriation of trade secrets.
• Defense of banks, financial institutions and automobile manufacturers in class actions involving claims of Uniform Commercial Code, consumer fraud, truth-in-lending and fair credit reporting.
• Real estate disputes including right of first refusal claims on purchase of a $37.5 million apartment complex, as well as TIF district disputes, special service area tax developments and condemnations.
• Representing financial institutions in claims arising out of the Uniform Commercial Code (Articles 3 and 4), including fictitious payees, forgeries and alterations, and other check schemes.
• Defense of a prominent truck manufacturer against claims for tortious interference with an international distribution agreement.
• Defense of an automobile manufacturer in dealer disputes.
• Arguments before the appellate courts, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Eight Circuits and the state appellate courts in Illinois and Indiana.

Mr. Ryan joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in January 1988. He is a member of the firm's Executive Committee and is the Leader of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. During his career with the firm, he has contributed significantly to its growth and management, having served on the Hiring Committee, the Associate Evaluation Committee and as an instructor for Hinshaw University, the firm’s technical and professional training program for associate attorneys.

He has been recognized by his peers as a Leading Lawyer in the categories of Class Action & Mass Tort Defense Law.

In the Fall of 2005, Mr. Ryan completed intensive training in mediation from the faculty of Pepperdine University School of Law’s top-ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.

Mr. Ryan is an active participant in the Employee Benefits and Fidelity & Surety committees of the American Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute. Mr. Ryan regularly gives presentations to various attorney groups and associations on business litigation subjects, including employee benefits, injunctive relief and arbitrations. His presentations include “Recent Trends in Claims Against Self-Insured Health Plan Administrators,” at the Self-Insurance Institute of America’s 30th Annual National Education Conference & Expo, in Chicago, Illinois, October 2010. Mr. Ryan is active in his church on various boards and committees, including the Finance Committee and School Board. He also regularly devotes time to a number of charitable organizations. Dan is an avid golfer, snow skier and water skier. He lives with his wife and four children in the Chicagoland area.