Media Mentions
2010
Stephen Ryan is noted by Law.com in its March 5 summary of an important decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Ryan had appeared before the court representing the Free File Alliance (FFA), a group of leading nationwide tax preparers. In its decision on class action litigation brought against the FFA, the Third Circuit ruled that the fees charged by FFA members for electronic filing of federal tax returns are not illegal, and the FFA’s agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to charge those fees does not violate antitrust laws.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies, Trial
Stephen Ryan was interviewed on February 10 by Federal News Radio concerning the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “The United States has been the leading country in the world to criminalize the conduct of its own companies,” he noted, calling some of the penalties imposed by the Department of Justice “eye-catching” and “astonishing.” Mr. Ryan said that FCPA matters encompass both “serious lapses” in corporate conduct and “overzealousness and abuse” in some government prosecutions. He added: “Usually in the United States we indict corrupt government officials and use corporations as witnesses against them. In FCPA matters the foreign officials are corrupt but we can’t reach them with our laws, so we indict the companies as the bad guys.”
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies, International Government Relations
2009
Stephen Ryan, head of the Firm’s Government Strategies Practice Group, and new group members Lanny Davis and Eileen O’Connor, were profiled in Legal Bisnow/Washington on December 4. Mr. Davis and Ms. O’Connor have been working to facilitate a resolution to the recent transition of power in Honduras and plan to unveil a crisis management blog within the next year. Mr. Davis has also represented a South Korean university as plaintiff in a $50 million lawsuit against his alma mater, Yale. Mr. Ryan stated that the two new group members are helping to realize his vision for the practice as a three-legged stool (public relations, public policy, and litigation), which enables him and other group members to visualize what clients’ litigation strategy should be in case their political approach doesn’t work.
Lanny J. Davis, Eileen M. O'Connor, Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan addressed in a December 4 Associated Press story whether the uninvited couple that breached security at a White House state dinner could be prosecuted for their actions. Although he thought criminal prosecution was unlikely, Mr. Ryan said that the government could bring felony charges against the couple for making false statements to the Secret Service, which could bring a maximum sentence of five years in prison. “It would seem to me that could cover this event,” Mr. Ryan said of the possible charge, adding that whether it could be brought would depend heavily on what the couple told the screeners at the White House the night of the dinner. The article also noted that Mr. Ryan, when an Assistant U.S. Attorney, once prosecuted a White House fence jumper.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan spoke to FederalNewsRadio.com on December 3 concerning new rules that require senior Department of Defense officials to get written approval from a Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) before taking a job with a defense contractor within two years after leaving government service. Speaking of these approvals, Mr. Ryan noted that “some of the people who write them do a terrific job and there's very good, practical guidance to people. However, we've seen a lot of those ethics opinions that it's not real clear. The guidance isn't terribly refined and it leaves the person confused about what it is.” He urged any official needing an ethics ruling to get a private sector opinion to go along with a DAEO opinion. As a provider of such opinions, Mr. Ryan said, “we try and sharpen up that analysis if the designated agency ethics officer didn't do that in the first instance.”
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Contracts and Public Procurement, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was included in a November 2 story that appeared on Johnhopebryant.com concerning a dinner held by the Australian ambassador to the U.S. in honor of philanthropic entrepreneur John Hope Bryant and his Operation HOPE program to advance financial literacy. Mr. Ryan is a former Mid-Atlantic board chairman for Operation HOPE.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan commented for the McClatchy-Tribune News Service (June 29) on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states can enforce their own banking laws on discrimination and predatory lending, even if that crosses into areas under federal regulation. Mr. Ryan declared that the decision “will have a significant, negative impact on the ability of a national bank to offer financial products uniformly throughout the country.” He predicted “a crazy quilt of conflicting legal instructions” and a “confusing situation of shared enforcement responsibilities for financial services."
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was quoted in a June 19 Reuters video report on the federal charges that Texas billionaire Allen Stanford orchestrated a massive fraud through his Antigua bank that bilked investors out of billions of dollars. Mr. Ryan, a former federal prosecutor, said of the charges that “generally, if it’s a Ponzi scheme, it is an easy case for the government to win.” He added that, although Stanford claims innocence, the Bernard Madoff conviction creates a difficult situation for him. “Mr. Stanford is very unlucky that a person like Madoff preceded him and created public resentment,” Mr. Ryan said. “That’s a very difficult problem for him when and if he goes to trial.”
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies, Trial
Stephen Ryan was quoted in The National Journal on April 11 concerning the dismissal of charges brought by the U.S. Justice Department against former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. Mr. Ryan said the dismissal means that Justice Department prosecutors "will be subjected to more adult supervision and will face greater scrutiny" as they prepare cases for trial. He also stated that the flaws in the prosecutors' handling of the case will make defense lawyers more aggressive, adding, "The defense in the Stevens case offers a textbook example for other lawyers on how to find a procedural flaw that gets you a get-out-of-jail-free card for your client."
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies, Trial
Steve Ryan was interviewed on March 10 by FederalNewsRadio regarding President Barack Obama's measure to reform the government procurement process. Mr. Ryan said that this measure could go either way, "It could be quite meaningful if it's carried out to fruition….On the other hand, there's not much guidance on what it really means." President Obama called for an end to no bid contracts, and called for greater competition for contracts. Mr. Ryan said that this is the opposite of many of the procurement reforms made in the 1990s. To hear the entire interview click here.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Contracts and Public Procurement, Government Strategies
2008
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted on December 11 by GovernmentExecutive.com in an article regarding the House's election of Representative Edolphus Towns as leader of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Despite the change in leadership, Mr. Ryan believes that the panel will continue to focus on overseeing federal contracting. "Contracting and procurement are the bread, butter and soul of this committee. These would be a very important part of the agenda, no matter who were chairman and ranking member."
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted extensively in the November 30 issue of The Am Law Daily in an interview regarding whether the United Nations or another international organization should govern the internet or whether policy decisions about who gets IP addresses and the role of the government should be left to individual countries and regional organizations. "Well, in a UN-type system, China has a seat on the UN Security Counsel and has one-fifth or one-quarter of the world's population. So the question is: 'If the UN takes over, will we have a system that looks more like the system in China or the free, democratic approach we use in North America?' I think our freedom is greater now than it would be under a UN system," said Mr. Ryan. To view the full article, click here.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen M. Ryan was interviewed on November 20 by Federal News Radio. Mr. Ryan spoke with the radio station about Representative Henry Waxman's move to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the subsequent vacancy of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chair position.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in the September 8 issue of the Washington Business Journal and the September 9 issue of the Baltimore Business Journal in articles regarding the effect the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have on businesses in the Washington, D.C. area. Mr. Ryan noted that companies paid to lobby the government are likely to lose business. "I don't think the government receivers are going to have any interest in paying for lobbying. There are certain law firms, strategic advisers and [public relations] firms whose meal ticket just ended, in so far as they depend on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as clients," he said. Mr. Ryan added that there are also questions about how creditors will be paid. "The first duty of any lawyer is to get paid for the work they do. And I think people will be very interested in finding out if the government intends to do that."
Stephen M. Ryan, Corporate, Government Strategies
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in the August 1 issue of the Washington Business Journal in an article regarding a July 30 federal housing law that makes explicit the government's backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and creates the Federal Housing Finance Authority to regulate government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs. Mr. Ryan noted that while the new law makes important changes, it leaves many questions unanswered. "It's untenable to have an incomplete answer to the question: What is the relationship between the GSEs and the government? I don't think this bill answers that. It was just a Band-Aid over the implicit guarantee," he said. Mr. Ryan also responded to the call by many for Fannie and Freddie to become either fully private or fully public institutions. "They will always be hybrids, just more clearly defined hybrids," he said.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in the April 28 edition of Security Fix, a Washington Post blog, in an article regarding the alleged hijacking of IP space by e-mail marketers closely associated with Scott Richter, an alleged spammer who has been sued by both Microsoft and MySpace. Scott Richter is the CEO of Media Breakaway, a company that Spamhaus claims hijacked IP space from San Francisco Bay Packet Radio. Spamhaus claims that the IP space should be revoked under the rules set out by the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). As ARIN's General Counsel, Mr. Ryan said, "The matter has come to ARIN's attention, it is under review, and at this point I can't say more except that we're looking at it very diligently."
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in a February 15 article published by Newsday regarding the potential federal investigation into whether Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee committed perjury, witness tampering and obstruction of justice at a recent congressional hearing. As a partner in McDermott’s Government Strategies Practice Group, Mr. Ryan discussed the likelihood that federal prosecutors would initiate investigations into incidents that allegedly occurred in their jurisdictions. "It was the equivalent of a nuclear explosion going off; [a prosecutor] can't look away," he said. Mr. Ryan noted that while Clemens' decision to testify was a mistake, it may be hard to criticize the baseball player's need to clear his name. "You're not Roger Clemens, and you have not won seven Cy Young Awards," he said.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was quoted in a January 11 article published by PR Newswire regarding Free File Alliance's launch of its 2008 free tax preparation services for Americans. As the Alliance's lawyer, Mr. Ryan commented on the benefits of the Alliance's public-private partnership with the Internal Revenue Service which has allowed the Alliance to provide six years of free tax preparation services for Americans with low and moderate incomes. "This unique partnership between government and private sector companies provides very real and significant benefits to poor and disadvantaged taxpayers. It also keeps government out of tax preparation, protecting taxpayer privacy and promoting private sector innovation and competition," Mr. Ryan said.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
2007
Stephen M. Ryan was mentioned in a November 1 article published by The New York Times regarding Blackwater Wordwide's hiring of some of the top Washington, D.C. lawyers in order to mount an aggressive legal, political and public relations counterstrike. Mr. Ryan is one of Blackwater's lawyers due to his reputation as being one of the top white collar defense lawyers as well as his experience as a former general counsel of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies, Trial, White-Collar Criminal Defense
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in a September 26 article published by the Los Angeles Times regarding the State Department's decision to intercede in the Blackwater probe. Mr. Ryan commented on the letter sent to a senior Blackwater executive ordering the company "to make no disclosure of the documents or information" regarding its work in Iraq without permission. "In the fluid setting of a congressional hearing it may become difficult, if not impossible, for Blackwater personnel to meet the terms of the State Department finding," Mr. Ryan said.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Contracts and Public Procurement, Government Strategies
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in a September 26 article published by the Washington Post regarding Rep. Henry A. Waxman's allegation that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is interfering with a House committee investigation into the Iraqi government and the activities of the Blackwater security firm. Mr. Ryan, an attorney for Blackwater, has been working on a separate hearing in which he directed the company "not to disclose any information" regarding its Iraq security contract without prior department authorization in writing. "This contractual direction from the DOS is unambiguous," Mr. Ryan said.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Contracts and Public Procurement, Government Strategies
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in an August 11 article published by The National Journal regarding the current surge of federal investigations into allegations of public corruption by members of Congress and other officials. Stephen commented on the media attention that has helped to build the momentum behind this trend. "I think the current crop of cases is a reflection that you have to follow the evidence when the evidence is on the front pages of the newspapers," Mr. Ryan said.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies, White-Collar Criminal Defense
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in a June 18 article published by Business Week regarding the decreasing supply of Internet Protocol addresses. Mr. Ryan, General Counsel for The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), commented about the organizations recent campaign trying to persuade legacy holders to deposit unused addresses into a public pool. "There is a moral imperative here. (Legacy holders) have a duty to think about the community's interest as well as their own," he said.
Stephen M. Ryan was quoted in a June 9 article published by The National Journal regarding attorneys representing corporations and political figures that are facing scrutiny from investigative entities. Mr. Ryan stressed the difference between preparing a witness for a hostile oversight proceeding and taking a client before a hill committee. "On the toughest oversight and investigation hearings, we may spend three days preparing for just three hours [of testimony]" Mr. Ryan explains.
Stephen Ryan was quoted on May 21 and May 28 in Information Week regarding the impending Internet address shortage. "Unless action is taken now, a quiet technical crisis will occur, not unlike Y2K in its complications, but without a fixed date or high level public attention."
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was quoted in the April 30 Federal Times on the Justice Department lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Arkansas against Accenture, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was quoted in the March 25 The New York Times on the Justin Berry pro bono case.
Stephen M. Ryan, Pro Bono & Community Service
Stephen Ryan appeared on NPR's All Things Considered on March 23 to discuss the relationship between the IRS and commercial tax preparation software providers.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was named as one of Government Technology Magazine's "Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers" in the March 2007 issue.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was quoted in the Star Tribune on February 23 regarding the Rochester Coalition and Mayo Clinic's lawsuit requesting copies of the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's financial records from the Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration under the Freedom of Information Act. Mr. Ryan was also quoted on this topic in Kiegers Notebook - Rochester Post Bulletin, Platts and Progressive Railroading.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was quoted in the February 12 issue of Roll Call regarding The United Transportation Union's addition to a coalition opposing a proposed expansion project for the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad. "The organizations opposed now demonstrate an ideological range - from a key AFL-CIO railroad union whose worker's safety is at stake to groups like Citizen's Against Government Waste and the Frontiers of Freedom Foundation," he said. "Stay tuned for a very large uptick in Members from every area of the country who will be joining the coalition."
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was quoted in the February 7 issue of The Boston Globe regarding the widow of a Navy pilot's suit against Raytheon.
Stephen M. Ryan, Government Strategies
Stephen Ryan was quoted in Government Computer News (GCN) on February 5 regarding the Defense Department receiving its Ipv6 addresses from the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). "When an existing customer has an IPv4 agreement, all they have to do is request v6 addresses and pay for the service. There is no need for a new agreement." He also notes "When people pay for this, they are paying for a service, DOD or anyone else will not own the numbers, but have the right to use them for as long as the contract remains in force and the department needs them."
