Ryan Clinton is a civil appellate attorney and leads the firm's Texas issues and appeals practice. A former Assistant Solicitor General in the Texas Attorney General's Office, Ryan has more than two decades of Texas litigation experience in state and federal court. He has delivered dozens of trial court and appellate arguments, numbering in the double-digits before the Supreme Court of Texas. He is also Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Ryan is particularly skilled in handling high-stakes appeals for oil and gas clients and is recognized by Chambers for "Oil & Gas Litigation" nationwide. His experience in the Supreme Court of Texas includes obtaining a vacatur of a $125 million arbitration award for an energy company, as well as representing a natural gas production company in a royalty methodology challenge, an exploration and production company in a personal injury dispute, and two oil and gas producers in a pair of retained acreage clause cases. He also argued on behalf of an international oil and gas producer in a precedent-setting gas royalties dispute in a Texas court of appeals.

Outside of the oil and gas industry, he has handled appeals in personal injury, employment, intellectual property, government, constitutional, and breach of contract matters.

As Assistant Solicitor General, Ryan successfully defended Texas A&M University in state and federal appeals related to the tragic "Aggie Bonfire" collapse, the State of Texas in a constitutional challenge to the Texas Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators Act, and a court of appeals sued by a sitting appellate justice over opinion authorship.

Ryan is a frequent speaker at Texas oil and gas litigation conferences and has also presented on topics such as the Texas Tort Claims Act, practicing before the Supreme Court of Texas, and governmental entity disputes.

With a passion for rescuing animals and serving others, Ryan and his wife have volunteered at the Austin animal shelter, Austin Pets Alive, for which Ryan has served as pro bono legal counsel.

Bar Admissions

Education

JD, University of Virginia School of Law, Order of the Coif, 2000

BA, Political Science and Public Policy Studies, Duke University, cum laude, 1997