Ryan Patrick
Ryan Patrick is a partner in Haynes Boone’s Houston office in the White Collar and Government Investigations Practice. Ryan is an experienced investigator and trial lawyer who has handled or supervised nearly every type of criminal and civil enforcement matter. It doesn’t matter if the investigation originates with the Department of Justice, the state Attorney General or local law enforcement. Ryan has seen it all.
Ryan’s experience comes from years in the courtroom, first as a state prosecutor and then as a Texas district court judge. In 2017, Ryan was nominated and unanimously confirmed as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, serving from 2018 to 2021. Ryan oversaw one of the largest DOJ offices and the busiest criminal docket in the country. During his time as U.S. Attorney, prosecutors in his office charged nearly 25,000 defendants in almost 22,000 cases, consistently ranking as the top district nationally in overall criminal prosecutions and criminal appeals.
Ryan has handled a broad array of white-collar cases as a state and federal prosecutor, including False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and money laundering investigations involving foreign actors, public officials and corporate defendants in the banking, biotech, energy, healthcare and space industries. During Ryan’s time at the district attorney’s he was a specially trained investigator and prosecutor in the vehicular crimes section and he finished his career with the district attorney’s office assigned to the Special Crimes/Major Offenders section. There the most complex and dangerous criminal organizations were investigated and taken to trial. One of Ryan’s final trials was the successful prosecution of a 1982 cold case murder concluding with a life sentence.
Ryan also maintains a criminal state court practice. Not only does Ryan continue to represent individuals accused of crimes in Texas state courts, but also works with the Houston Volunteer Lawyer’s Association assisting individuals attempting to seal or expunge old criminal records as they work on moving past old mistakes. State court cases are often more reactionary and unlike most federal investigations, the target in a state case often doesn’t know what’s about to happen.
Ryan’s extensive experience in the courtroom is evidenced in more than 60 first and solo chair jury trials and has presented oral arguments before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. As a judge Ryan presided over more than 100 jury trials in four and a half years on the bench.
Having earned his private pilot’s license in 2007, Ryan’s knowledge and passion in aviation has additionally helped him advise clients involved in FAA investigations. Additionally, having been a state elected official, Ryan’s knowledge of the Texas Ethics Code has benefited clients navigating state campaign finance laws.
- Represent a major construction company responding to customs duty FCA investigation.
- Have handled internal investigations on behalf of multiple Fortune 100 companies.
- Represented an elder care home during a Texas HHS whistleblower criminal investigation.
- Represented clients in “wet lease/dry lease” FAA investigations.
- Represented a witness in the impeachment trial of the Texas Attorney General.
- Represented the NFL’s interests in Houston during a high profile criminal investigation.
- Counseled high-end jewelry client on Anti-Money Laundering and Bank Secrecy Act issues in the United States.
- Counseled a large precious metals broker in the wake of Russian sanctions.
- Represented the interests of a private equity firm and their investment due diligence during a Department of Agriculture OIG crop insurance fraud investigation.
- Represented two private schools and their owner in a Small Business Administration OIG criminal investigation regarding the alleged misuse of over $2,000,000 in PPP loans.
- Investigation closed without any criminal or civil charges during the grand jury investigation.
- Currently serve as the outside ethics advisor for a Maltese port husbanding company.
- Lead an internal investigation for a foreign company in a hack and theft of millions of dollars of bitcoin.
- Ongoing anti-counterfeit investigations on behalf of a nationwide vaping device company leading to the seizure of more than 100,000 counterfeit products with federal and state court orders along with criminal prosecution referrals for the sellers and wholesalers of the counterfeit devices.
- Counseled a high-profile extreme experience company on limiting and investigating fraudulent credit card chargebacks.
- Lead the investigation into the spray painting and defacing of a Picasso.
- Lead the investigation of the Santa Fe High School shooting.
- Prosecuted the owner and operator of India-based call centers sentenced for scamming U.S. victims out of millions.
- Prosecuted a Chinese energy company, U.S. oil & gas affiliate and Chinese national indicted for theft of trade secrets.
- Prosecuted a Texas professor and NASA researcher arrested on charges related to China’s Talents Program.
- Prosecuted a former Venezuelan official charged in connection with international bribery and money laundering scheme.
- Prosecuted Ukrainian men who plead guilty to conspiracy and trafficking counterfeit cancer and hepatitis drugs.
- Prosecuted a Texas doctor convicted in $325 million health care fraud scheme.
- Lead in the investigation into multiple doctors, physician assistants, pharmacists and pharmacies who were operating “pill mills” and illegal pain clinics.
*Some of these cases were handled prior to joining Haynes and Boone.
- U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Texas, 2018-2021
- Judge, 177th District Court, 2012-2016
- Assistant District Attorney (Harris County), 2006-2012
- “Meet the Texas US Attorneys”, moderator, UT Law Government Enforcement Institute, October 28, 2023.
- FCPA Compliance Report Podcast, Guest, episode 652, “Ryan Patrick on the Role of a US Attorney Under the Monaco Memo,” April 2, 2023. Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
- “Understanding the Whistleblower Improvement Act”, panel member, hosted by Kreller Group, March 27, 2023.
- “Managing the Crisis,” speaker, Houston Association of Corporate Counsel, March 22, 2023.
- SDTX Chapter of Federal Bar Association, Federal Agency Practice, speaker, November 17, 2022.
- "What To Do When Things Go Boom: Lawyer Crisis Management," speaker, Houston Bar Association, April 22, 2022.
- "The Art of the Interview: Behavioral Science and Real-Life Takeaways for Interviewing Employees, Whistleblowers and Third Parties," speaker, ACI 2022 Houston Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Conference, January 27, 2022.
- Fraud Fighter Podcast, Guest, 041 - United States Attorney - Ryan Patrick, November 29, 2021. Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
- Houston Area Police Chiefs Meeting, guest speaker, August 24, 2021.
Education
J.D., South Texas College of Law Houston, 2006, The Order of Barristers
B.B.A., Baylor University, 2001, Sigma Iota Epsilon
Admissions
Texas
Court Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Haynes Boone Partner Ryan Patrick was featured in an Agenda article. Below is an excerpt: Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco recently gave a fiery speech announcing a set of Department of Justice policies aiming to encourage companies to quickly self-disclose misconduct and employ compensation clawback measures to deter bad actors. Monaco’s discussion was followed a day later by a similar speech [...]
