Ryan D. Burns

Ryan is a longstanding member of the firm's Casualty Department and has considerable experience with a wide variety of casualty matters.  A substantial portion of Ryan’s practice is devoted to the handling of matters with complex theories of liability, often involving catastrophic loss and/or wrongful death.  They include claims emanating from product liability, construction and equipment accidents, automotive liability, interstate trucking and transportation, negligent security, premises and retail liability, among many others.  As an example of this complexity, Ryan has litigated several matters where causation for death was at issue such as alleged complications from surgeries and alleged food borne illnesses (e. coli, vibrio), and has handled numerous multi-party claims involving demands in excess of $50 million.

As a litigator with experience in a multitude of casualty disciplines from the general to the specialized, including asbestos and toxic tort, maritime and fraud/special investigation, Ryan serves as thought leader and mentor to associates in his office. He has also argued appeals before the Second, Third, and Fourth District Courts of Appeal.

Ryan's legal career started as a prosecutor with Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, which provided him with considerable litigation experience and familiarity with the criminal justice system. This was a continuation of his focus on litigation during his legal education at Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington where he was in Moot Court (finalist and competition team) and the school's trial competition team.  In combination with his civil career at Marshall Dennehey, Ryan has tried approximately 20 jury trials to verdict, including several complex multi-party and Wrongful Death matters spanning weeks in court.

Ryan is a Florida native, born and raised in Cocoa Beach in Brevard County and attending the University of Florida as an undergraduate where he studied theoretical physics and mathematics before leaving Florida for law school with his wife.  He now is based out of Fort Lauderdale where he and his wife are raising two daughters, and in his spare time trains for obstacle course racing and triathlons.