Ryan S. Smethurst is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm's Washington, D.C. office. Ryan litigates and counsels clients regarding insurance and reinsurance disputes nationwide.
He represents the WTC Captive Insurance Company with respect to its defense of approximately 10,000 bodily injury suits by Fire Department of New York, New York Police Department, and construction personnel relating to their rescue, recovery, and debris removal work at the World Trade Center site on and after September 11, 2001. Ryan also served as liaison counsel to twelve insurers with respect to the largest settlement of Roman Catholic clergy sexual abuse cases in history.
In addition to representing insurers in some of the United States’ most high-profile mass torts, Ryan represents commercial carriers, captive insurers, policyholders, and other insurance market participants regarding general liability, directors and officers, errors and omissions, employment practices, crime, property and specialized insurance and reinsurance issues. Ryan’s matters have included environmental insurance coverage cases; insurance coverage litigation arising out of “pre-packaged” asbestos bankruptcies; bad faith litigation; the defense of governmental investigations of insurers; property and business interruption disputes, including Hurricane Katrina claims; multiple reinsurance arbitrations; and appeals, among others.
Ryan also counsels corporate clients, such as investment banks, venture capital firms, and healthcare organizations, with respect to insurance issues arising in corporate transactions and related litigation. In this capacity, Ryan served as lead insurance counsel to the energy trading arm of a major Wall Street bank with respect to the largest leveraged buy-out in history. In addition, Ryan advises numerous clients concerning policy drafting and interpretation matters, insurance placement and claims handling issues.
Ryan is among a handful of practitioners nationwide selected to author the American Bar Association’s Manual for Complex Insurance Coverage Litigation. He also has been published in Risk Management Magazine, Risk & Insurance, Reinsurance Magazine and The Lawyer’s Brief.
In addition to his insurance and reinsurance practice, Ryan litigates a variety of commercial disputes in federal and state courts. In this capacity, he has represented Citigroup, CSC, McDonalds, Verizon, an electrical component manufacturer, a defense contractor, a dialysis provider, a family-owned poultry producer and wholesaler, and other clients. Ryan also litigates child custody and immigration matters on a pro bono basis.
Prior to entering private practice, Ryan interned on three occasions in the chambers of the Honorable Bruce S. Mencher of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He also clerked for the General Services Administration’s Office of Regional General Counsel in Washington, D.C.
Representative Experience
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In Re World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, Nos. 21 MC 100, 21 MC 102, and 21 MC 103, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (representing the WTC Captive Insurance Company with respect to its defense of approximately 10,000 lawsuits against the City of New York and its contractors arising out of the rescue, recovery and debris removal efforts at Ground Zero and elsewhere in the City of New York on and after September 11, 2001)
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The Clergy Cases I, Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4286, Los Angeles Superior Court (liaison counsel to twelve insurers of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles with respect to a $660MM settlement of 517 sexual abuse cases, including the Archdiocese’s settlement with its insurers, and the insurers’ separate settlement with approximately thirty of the Archdiocese’s co-defendants and their insurers; lead reinsurance counsel to Allianz with respect to The Clergy Cases I settlement)
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Travelers Cas. & Surety Co. v. Superior Court, 126 Cal. App. 4th 1131 (2005), cert. denied, No. S132595 (Cal. 2005) (successful writ petition arising out of a failed mediation of 90 clergy sexual abuse cases against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange [County, California])
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Young v. HomeChoice Partners, Inc., No. 08C-10957-4, Circuit Court for Gwinnett County, Georgia (bad faith dispute arising out of the defense of a pharmaceutical malpractice case)
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Bd. of Trustees of Porter-Gaud School v. The Church Ins. Co., No. 2-01 0631 18, U.S. District Court for District of South Carolina, and related matters (representation of an insurer in bad faith and fraud litigation and with respect to the resolution of numerous sexual abuse claims)
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Cooperative of American Physicians-Mutual Protection Trust, Inc. v. Employers Reinsurance Corporation (successful reinsurance arbitration arising out of the settlement of a class action)
Education
- George Mason University School of Law, J.D. (cum laude), 1999
- Cornell University, B.A., 1993
