Ryan Tamm

Ryan has nearly a decade of experience helping clients navigate complex disputes. He represents individuals and businesses in state court, federal court, and administrative proceedings, as well as in private arbitrations and government investigations. A former judicial clerk, Ryan leverages his behind-the-scenes courtroom experience to guide clients through all phases of litigation, from pre-suit investigation to trial and appeal.

Ryan also maintains an active pro bono practice. His recent pro bono work includes representing an asylum seeker in removal proceedings and representing victims of police violence in civil rights litigation. In addition to his litigation practice, Ryan serves as an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, where he coaches the mock trial team and guest lectures on the topics of evidence and trial practice.

Education

University of Colorado Law School, J.D.; Associate Editor, University of Colorado Law Review;

Miami (Ohio) University, B.A., Political Science and French, cum laude; 

Admissions

Oregon

Colorado

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the District of Oregon

• Represented a home-healthcare company in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit by a former patient alleging medical negligence and violations of consumer protection law. After a two-week trial, we won a complete defense verdict in favor of our clients and were awarded litigation costs.
• Represented a lumber company in a contract dispute with a sawmill that had failed to pay for lumber delivered by our client. The sawmill responded to our lawsuit by asserting antitrust counterclaims, alleging that our client was trying to prevent the sawmill from expanding into lumber extraction. We won complete dismissal of the antitrust counterclaims and a judgment in our client’s favor on the breach-of-contract claims.
• Represented an investment fund in a post-closing dispute related to the sale of an arms manufacturing company. The purchaser alleged that the company’s former executive officers had manipulated the company’s EBITDA to artificially inflate the company’s share price and induce the purchaser to pay a higher amount for the acquisition. The purchaser sued those officers, as well as our client, which it alleged had unlawfully profited from the manipulation of the company’s financial statements. We won complete dismissal of the claims against our client before discovery even began.
• Represented a security-system manufacturer in a putative class action by a former contractor, who alleged that the company had wrongfully misclassified employees as contractors for the purpose of denying them employment benefits. We won complete dismissal of the case before class-certification briefing was filed.  
• Represented a hardware manufacturer in a product liability action alleging that welding defects in the manufacturer’s construction scaffolding and caused the scaffolding collapse while the plaintiff was using it, resulting in catastrophic injuries. We worked closely with a metallurgist and engineer to analyze the plaintiff’s factual allegations, and we found that even if the plaintiff’s claims were true, the product could not have failed in the way plaintiff had alleged. We presented those arguments at mediation, including providing a physical demonstration for the mediator showing that even if the welds in question had failed completely, the scaffolding would not have collapsed. The case settled that day for approximately 10% of the plaintiff’s opening demand, less than the remaining cost to defend the case.
• Represented the personal representative of an estate in litigation by a claimant seeking ownership of property valued at over $1 million. The plaintiff claimed that our client had wrongfully denied his claim of ownership and sought ownership of the property in question, plus money damages. We won complete summary judgment in our client’s favor on all of the plaintiff’s claims.

Insights & Presentations

• Chapter Author, Courtroom Companion: Oregon Evidence (Oregon State Bar, 2024)

• Chapter Author, Business Torts: A Fifty State Guide (Oregon chapter) (forthcoming 2025)

Professional

• Adjunct Professor, Mock Trial, Lewis & Clark Law School

• Guest Lecturer, Evidence and Trial Advocacy, Lewis & Clark Law School