Biography

Ryan is a skilled business lawyer who listens to his clients and has a practical and rational approach whether working directly with clients or negotiating on their behalf. He helps his clients identify and achieve their primary objectives without spending unnecessary time or expense on secondary issues that are unlikely to matter. This approach has made Ryan a trusted advisor to his clients for nearly two decades, and has often resulted in clients on the other side of a transaction hiring Ryan for future matters once the transaction has been completed.

Ryan works with clients across many industries and practices at the firm. His practice includes:

  • Serving as outside general counsel to early stage and mature companies.
  • Representing executives and fund managers with respect to their employment and compensation arrangements and exit packages.
  • Leading merger and acquisition transactions.
  • Advising investors, investment funds, and companies with respect to financing transactions. 
  • Working with Farella’s private clients on their business matters, such as investments and the purchase of real estate or personal property assets. 
  • Working with family businesses on succession planning issues, including orchestrating the transfer of assets, redefining roles and responsibilities from one generation to the next, and assisting in the education and guidance of up-and-coming family members on the intricacies of the family’s assets.

Ryan is the founder of Farella’s cannabis practice. At Ryan’s insistence, Farella was one of the first midsized law firms in the country to develop a dedicated cannabis practice to leverage over 60 years of experience in other highly regulated industries for the benefit of cannabis and cannabis-adjacent clients. Ryan counsels his cannabis clients to launch, fund, and expand their businesses and address the significant legal and regulatory hurdles faced by enterprises in this industry. Unlike many industry attorneys, he draws on years of experience as a high-level general legal advisor where he has experienced many parallel issues faced by his cannabis clients.

Distinctions

  • Chambers USA: Cannabis Law - Western United States, Band 1 (2019-2023)
  • "Top Cannabis Lawyers" in California (2022) - The Daily Journal
  • Legal 500 United States, Cannabis, Recommended Attorney (2021-2023)
  • "Top 100 Lawyers" in California (2018) - The Daily Journal
  • "Top 40 Under 40" leading lawyers in California (2016) - The Daily Journal
  • Trailblazers in Cannabis Law - National Law Journal (2018)

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Founding member, chair (2018-2019), Executive Committee, Member, Cannabis Law Committee, Bar Association of San Francisco
  • Lifetime member of the National Cannabis Bar Association
  • Member of the National Cannabis Industry Association
  • Former member, Board of Advisors, Sprouts Cooking Club

Firm Highlights

Publication

Insurance Market Crushes Wineries and Wine Country Homeowners

We keep hearing about how difficult it is for winery and vineyard owners to get property insurance these days, both for their homes and their wine businesses in California’s wildfire-prone areas. Those who have...

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Publication

Corporate Transparency Act: State of the Law and Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements

Key Points: Despite ongoing legal challenges, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) generally remains in effect and enforceable. Clients should continue to abide by its regulations. Initial reports for entities formed in 2024 are due within...

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News

Farella Braun + Martel Earns San Francisco Green Business Recertification

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Publication

Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in North Carolina and South Carolina

Welcome to  EO Radio Show - Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . Episode 75 is the tenth in a series of Quick Tip episodes focusing on the details of state registration of nonprofit corporations. With...

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News

North Coast Industry Insiders Weigh In on Why California Cannabis Tax Revenue Slipped in 2023

Jeff Hamilton spoke to Susan Wood with the North Bay Business Journal for the article "North Coast Industry Insiders Weigh In on Why California Cannabis Tax Revenue Slipped in 2023." Read the article with Jeff's...

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Publication

Employment Law Update for Nonprofits With Holly Sutton

Welcome to  EO Radio Show - Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . Charities, foundations, and their founders often request help addressing employment practices and compliance questions. In this episode, host Cynthia Rowland is joined by Holly...

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Publication

Corporate Transparency Act: A Guide on Beneficial Ownership for Nonprofit Executives

The Corporate Transparency Act, enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, represents a significant shift in regulatory requirements for entities across the United States. This act, set to...

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News

JPMorgan Chase Accuses TransUnion of Stealing 'Trade Secrets'

Intellectual property practice chair Eugene Mar provided expert commentary to American Banker for the article "JPMorgan Chase Accuses TransUnion of Stealing 'Trade Secrets'." In the article, he said: "By filing this as a trade...

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News

Scraping Battles: Meta Loses Legal Effort to Halt Harvesting of Personal Profiles

Alex Reese spoke to Matt Fleischer-Black of  Cybersecurity Law Report about the Meta v. Bright Data decision and its impact on U.S. scraping case law. Read the article here (paywall or trial).

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News

Farella Announces 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinders: Taylor Rottjakob and John Ugai

Farella Braun + Martel is proud to announce that senior associates  Taylor E. Rottjakob and John M. Ugai have been named 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinders. Pathfinders have been identified as...

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