John P. Ryan

John Ryan's litigation practice includes defending his clients against a variety of state and federal statutory claims, especially those that allow for fee shifting. He litigates both individual claims and class actions in state and federal courts. Not only has John successfully argued cases to verdict for his clients—he has also defended cases at various appellate levels, in both state and federal courts.

John employs a cost-effective defense strategy in large exposure class actions, as well as in nominal personal injury claims. His creative legal arguments have allowed his clients to find a positive resolution at a variety of different court levels, including: the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

John has successfully defended companies and attorneys in numerous class actions involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (ICFA), and the Illinois Right of Publicity Act (IRPA), as well as other common law and statutory claims. He has become a leading defense counsel in the collection industry for cases involving licensing issues. John has vigorously defended over 20 consumer class actions which were based upon the defendant allegedly needing, but not having, a license to collect under some state statute. He received several favorable opinions on this issue in both Illinois and Indiana. John convinced the Illinois Supreme Court to issue an opinion in favor of his client wherein the debtor argued that the judgment against him was void because the plaintiff did not have a license.

John is defending dozens of employers in class actions for alleged a violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Relying on his experience defending a variety of consumer class actions, John works with his clients to develop creative strategies for defending these newly litigated matters. John has submitted numerous briefs on behalf his clients at both the trial and appellate court the levels. He has also helped other clients develop cost-effective resolution strategies to bring an end to their BIPA class action litigation. While the law on BIPA continues to develop, John identifies the strategies which work best for his clients.

• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
• ACA International
• NARCA

• Recognized as an "Emerging Leader" by Leading Lawyers Magazine in 2015

• Co-Presenter, "Do Your Workplace Screening and Monitoring Policies Acknowledge Employee Privacy Rights?" Hinshaw's 25th Annual Labor & Employment Seminar, Virtual Event, October 29, 2020
• "Biometric Privacy: Litigation Trends and Defenses," Hinshaw U, Chicago, Illinois, February 12, 2019
• "The Supreme Court's Trilogy on Consumer Law - Gomez, Spokeo and Gillie - How Will These Opinions Affect Your Practice?," The National Creditors Bar Association, 2016 Fall Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 29, 2016
• "Extra Judicial Efforts to Regulate Attorney Debt Collection Harms the Profession, Clients and the Courts," Annual Consumer Financial Services Conference, Chicago, Illinois, September 16, 2016
• "The Ethical Implications on the Use of Technology," The Illinois Credit Union League's 39th Annual Attorneys' Conference, September 9, 2016
• "The Continuing Evolution of the TCPA," Lorman Education Services, webinar, July 2016
• "Licensing Requirements and Their Implication on Collection Attorneys," Defense Bar Education Session, NARCA 2014 Fall Collection Conference, October 2014

John assisted in the research and editing of  "The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 – Navigating Through its Sea of Uncertainty, Parts I and II," which was authored by Hinshaw attorney, Steve Puiszis. It was published in For the Defense, Vol. 47, Nos. 10 and 11, Defense Research Institute, October and November 2005, and also in The John Marshall Law Review, Volume 40, Fall 2006, Number 1.