Ryan Newell has a breadth of experience with a wide array of Delaware lawsuits.  Whatever and wherever the dispute, Ryan’s experience litigating different areas of the law and his understanding of the Delaware courts have resulted in Ryan being enlisted by parties and the Delaware courts in three distinct roles: as a litigator, as a mediator or arbitrator, and as a special master or discovery facilitator.

Litigator: Ryan’s career as a litigator began with his role as a member of the team that successfully defended the State of Delaware before the United States Supreme Court in an original jurisdiction action brought by New Jersey that challenged Delaware’s sovereignty over the Delaware River.  Since that unique experience before the high court, the bulk of his experience has been in corporate and commercial lawsuits before the Delaware Court of Chancery, the Delaware Superior Court, the Delaware Supreme Court, and the District of Delaware.  Beyond his business law disputes, he has also assisted parties with issues concerning employment law, government and municipal law, trusts and estates law, and intellectual property law.  A Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, Ryan has regularly been recognized as a leading Delaware litigator by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, Lawdragon, Super Lawyers, and Delaware Today.

Mediator & Arbitrator: Praised for his “productive and cordial demeanor,” Ryan is frequently selected by parties to resolve their disputes as either a mediator or an arbitrator.  According to sources from Chambers USA, "[h]e's got a good understanding of the law and knows the court."  With nearly two decades of broad immersion in Delaware law and as someone who Delaware courts frequently appoint and trust to assist with disputes, Ryan’s experience has led parties to engage him in these forms of alternative dispute resolution.  As a mediator, Ryan has been trained by renowned mediators from Harvard Law School and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law—regularly ranked as the top two mediation training programs in the world.  He has also completed the Delaware Superior Court’s mediation training program.  As an arbitrator, Ryan has assisted parties in private arbitration and arbitration for the American Arbitration Association. 

Court Appointed Special Master & Discovery Facilitator:  In more than 20 lawsuits since 2016, the Delaware Court of Chancery and the Delaware Superior Court have appointed Ryan to assist those courts with discovery disputes, often in high stakes litigations.   With extensive experience litigating similar claims under Delaware law as a first chair attorney, Ryan also brings a deep understanding of Delaware discovery law, in particular as to issues concerning electronic discovery.  A frequent author on such issues, Ryan is also the Delaware Law School’s adjunct professor for electronic discovery.  He also completed The Sedona Conference’s eDiscovery Negotiation Training program, a prestigious invitation only program. 

As a special master, Ryan resolves discovery motions—usually within a matter of days—allowing parties to swiftly advance through discovery.  He has served as the special master in cases such as: Partner Investments, L.P. v. Theranos, Inc.; Preston Hollow Capital LLC v. Nuveen; Imorphics Ltd. v. Think Surgical, Inc.; and SPay, Inc. v. Stack Media Inc.

As a discovery facilitator, Ryan helps parties narrow and often avoid expensive motion practice without court intervention.  Much like mediation, Ryan utilizes both meetings among all parties and private confidential sessions with a subset of the parties in an attempt gain consensus on discovery disputes.  In this role, Ryan has helped parties in a wide variety of cases, including litigations concerning high stakes corporate transactions such as: Tiffany & Co. v. LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE; AB Stable VIII LLC v. MAPS Hotels & Resorts One LLC; Akorn, Inc. v. Fresenius Kabi AG; Navient Solutions, LLC v. Conduent Education Services, LLC; and Channel MedSystems, Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corp.

In addition to these roles, Ryan has also served as a court appointed receiver.

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Born and raised in Delaware, Ryan returned to practice in Delaware following his undergraduate studies and legal studies.   Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame and its Mendoza College of Business.  He then attended at the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University on a Dean’s Scholarship, where he was a member of the Law Review.  Outside of practice, Ryan is the past president of the Notre Dame Club of Delaware, the president of the Richard K. Herrmann Technology Inn of Court, a member of the Richard S. Rodney Inn of Court and its past treasurer, and a current board member of Delaware Volunteer Legal Services.  Throughout his career in the bar, he has consistently volunteered with Delaware’s Office of the Child Advocate.