Ryan Y. Park Partner

Ryan co-leads McGuireWoods’ North Carolina Appellate Litigation team and is a core member of the firm’s Appeals and Issues and State Attorneys General Investigations & Enforcement teams. Drawing on his experience as the former Solicitor General of North Carolina, he helps clients navigate high-stakes appeals, complex trial-court litigation, and sensitive government investigations.

One of the most experienced appellate advocates in North Carolina, Ryan has served as lead counsel in more than 150 appeals, including more than 100 in the North Carolina appellate courts. He has argued dozens of appeals nationwide and twice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Clients regularly turn to Ryan not only for appellate strategy, but also to shape dispositive motions and preserve critical issues in trial courts. He frequently briefs and argues motions in state and federal trial courts, including the North Carolina Business Court, positioning cases for efficient resolution or success on appeal.

Ryan also represents companies facing government investigations and enforcement actions, particularly those involving State Attorneys General. His practice increasingly focuses on complex, health-care litigation, antitrust matters, and state and federal constitutional law, including the First Amendment. In addition to defending claims, Ryan has significant experience formulating and prosecuting affirmative lawsuits, giving him a strategic, end-to-end perspective on how disputes are built, defended, and resolved.

Before joining McGuireWoods, Ryan served for more than five years as Solicitor General of North Carolina, where he oversaw the state’s appellate litigation and served as lead counsel in its most significant cases. He brings that perspective to his private practice, offering clients a deep understanding of how courts and government decision makers approach high-profile legal issues.

Ryan clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justices David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as for Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was co-editor-in-chief of the Harvard International Law Journal and holds a B.A. with distinction in economics and political science from Amherst College.

Ryan teaches a course on State Attorneys General at Duke University School of Law and has taught appellate practice at Duke and state constitutional law at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law. He serves on the rules advisory committees for both the Fourth Circuit and North Carolina appellate courts and is a member of the American Law Institute. He has also written on law and society for national publications, including The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.