Ryan Scarborough draws upon his deep experience in both federal and state courts across the country to advise his clients and litigate their cases. Ryan regularly squares off against private litigants and government agencies, both offensively in challenging agency overreach and defensively when banks, financial services companies, and their directors and officers find themselves the target of enforcement actions, FDIC receivership lawsuits, or class actions. He frequently litigates against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and other financial regulatory agencies. Ryan is ranked by Chambers and Benchmark Litigation and has been recognized by The Legal 500 for his work in handling Financial Services litigation, which describes him as an “[o]utstanding attorney and strategic thinker” and praises him for his “calming approach.” Ryan was selected as a Law360 MVP for Banking in 2024. Ryan often speaks and writes about regulatory and enforcement initiatives, as well as D&O liability. His articles tend to revolve around a consistent theme—namely, that sometimes it pays to litigate. Drawing on lessons learned from his representation of numerous banks and their D&Os, Ryan has published articles on everything from “Navigating CFPB Regulation of Bank Overdraft Fees” to “A Litigator’s Thoughts on Protecting Financial Institutions from Enforcement Actions.” He has also written about business judgment protections for directors and officers after the Great Recession. Ryan leads Williams & Connolly’s Directors & Officers Practice Group. He also chairs the firm's Discovery Attorney Committee and co-chairs the firm’s pro bono immigration / asylum program. Ryan has served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he taught a trial practice seminar on experts. Ryan was born and raised in Austin, Texas. He graduated summa cum laude from Duke University in 1994 with a degree in Public Policy Studies. Ryan then studied abroad in Japan for a year as a Fulbright Scholar at Tohoku University before entering law school. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1998, and served as a Primary Editor on the Harvard Law Review. Ryan joined Williams & Connolly in 2000 after clerking for U.S. District Court Judge Alan C. Kay in Honolulu. Representative Experience
- Litigated APA challenge to a proposed rule issued by the Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC concerning the Community Reinvestment Act, in which the district court granted a preliminary injunction in favor of our clients.
- Engaged to evaluate and prepare APA challenges to various other rules proposed by the SEC, CFPB, and bank regulatory agencies (Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC).
- Represented bank president Harry Calcutt in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court arising from an FDIC enforcement action seeking to ban him from banking and impose a six-figure penalty.
- Defended two of only three lawsuits to be filed by the CFPB against banks allegedly involved in unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices.
- Defended former directors and officers of a dozen different banks in response to threatened or actual FDIC receivership lawsuits.
- Represented bank directors, officers, and institution-affiliated parties in response to threatened enforcement actions by the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve Bank.
- Litigated overdraft fee class actions on behalf of multiple banks.
- Litigated breach of contract suits against the federal government on behalf of investors who recapitalized insolvent banks only to have the FDIC seize those banks after Congress enacted laws undoing the deals.
- Represented companies in response to CFPB enforcement investigations and actions, including appealing supervisory exam findings pursuant to the Bureau’s internal appeals process.
- Advised banks and their directors in response to threatened shareholder and derivative lawsuits.
- Litigated breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets case on behalf of payment processing client.
- Advised and defended major AmLaw law firm in response to threatened and actual claims.
- Tried numerous cases on behalf of Pfizer and Wyeth involving menopausal hormone therapy medicines Prempro and Premarin.
- Litigated breach of contract case in Delaware Chancery Court on behalf of real estate developer.
Recognitions"Financial Services Regulation: Banking Enforcement & Investigations (Nationwide)," Chambers USA, 2022-2024 "Litigation Star," in General Commercial Litigation, Benchmark Litigation, 2020-2025 MVP, in Banking, Law360, 2024 "Litigation Star," in Product Liability, Benchmark Litigation, 2020-2025 Selected to Super Lawyers, 2014, 2017-2019 |
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