Professional Biography
Image of Ryan Spear

Ryan Spear Partner

  • Seattle

    D +1.206.359.3039

    F +1.206.359.4039

    Seattle

    1201 Third Avenue, Suite 4900

    Seattle, WA 98101-3099

    +1.206.359.3039

    RSpear@perkinscoie.com

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Overview

Ryan Spear counsels the world’s most innovative companies on cutting-edge privacy and security issues. His wide-ranging practice includes:

  • Litigation. Ryan often defends clients in complex class-action cases arising under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). He has litigated several significant BIPA matters in state and federal courts across the country, helping clients achieve notable victories and favorable settlements. Ryan also has extensive experience litigating individual and class-action cases arising under other privacy and data security laws, including the Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act (SCA), and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
  • Counseling. Outside the litigation context, Ryan advises clients in a wide variety of industries on key strategic issues. For example, Ryan helps clients understand and comply with laws governing biometric privacy; laws governing consumer privacy, such as the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA); and laws governing data security, including Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and similar state laws.  
  • Content moderation. Ryan works with leading online service providers to develop effective and efficient strategies for moderating user-generated content. Ryan also frequently represents clients in high-stakes cases involving free speech and online publishing, including cases involving the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and the First Amendment.  
  • Platform protection. Ryan helps clients enforce their terms of service and protect their platforms from online threats and abuse, including fraud, harassment, spam, phishing, and similar activity. In addition to helping clients develop comprehensive strategies for protecting their platforms, Ryan represents clients in lawsuits involving malicious online conduct targeting clients’ services and users.

Before joining Perkins Coie, Ryan was a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), a bipartisan organization created by Congress to oversee the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s (USDOT) response to the 2008 financial crisis. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Paul L. Friedman of the U.S . District Court for the District of Columbia.

Prior to attending law school, Ryan worked in social services, with a focus on affordable housing and refugee rights.

Professional Recognition

  • Listed as a "Washington Rising Star" by Super Lawyers Magazine, 2017 - 2018

Related Employment

  • Congressional Oversight Panel, Washington, D.C., Legislative Fellow, 2009
  • Perkins Coie LLP, Seattle, WA, Summer Associate, 2006
  • Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., Clinical Intern, Fall 2005

Clerkships

  • Hon. Paul Friedman, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 2007 - 2009

Experience

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RELATED INFORMATION

Bar and Court Admissions

  • Washington
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Education

  • Harvard Law School, J.D., 2007, Editor, Harvard Law Review
  • University of Washington, B.A., English, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1997