From Bronx sanitation roots to the courtroom, Dennis Ryan fights for New York's working people

Dennis Ryan grew up in Pelham Bay surrounded by union families, Irish dance, and the values instilled by a father who worked for the New York City Department of Sanitation. Today, as founder of his own Queens practice, he channels that upbringing into fighting for the very people he was raised alongside, from injured tradesmen to 9/11 first responders.

The legal profession has long been one in which reputation, relationships, and established networks open doors. Dennis Ryan forged a different path, driven by a determination to champion people who too often find themselves up against far more powerful opponents.

Long before he stood before juries fighting for injured New Yorkers, Dennis Ryan was a boy growing up in Pelham Bay, where construction workers, firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers and other union members weren't just neighbors – they were family. It was an Irish-American, blue-collar upbringing that would shape not only the type of lawyer he became but also the people he would go on to represent.

"Construction workers, firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers and city employees," Ryan says. "Those are the people I grew up with. Those are the people we represent now."

They were his neighbors, his relatives and his family's closest friends, many of them proud Irish Americans whose own parents and grandparents had crossed the Atlantic in search of opportunity.

Those values were rooted in a childhood where Irish identity and public service went hand in hand. Ryan describes himself as "100 percent Irish." All four of his grandparents emigrated from Ireland, with family roots stretching across Galway, Tipperary, Mayo and Monaghan. His maternal grandmother first brought him to Ireland at the age of 11, beginning a lifelong connection with the country.

Now 43, Ryan is the eldest of three children and still sees himself first as the son of a New York City sanitation worker. The values of hard work, public service and loyalty that surrounded him growing up continue to shape the way he approaches every case.

Growing up in the Bronx, he didn't consciously learn to be Irish. It was simply the air around him. His father, Michael Ryan, worked for the New York City Department of Sanitation and served as Vice President of its Emerald Society, meaning Irish dances, community events and celebrations were a constant part of family life. Ryan played Gaelic football as a youngster, while his younger sister, Claire, took up Irish dancing.

"I was kind of always surrounded by it," he says.

Every St. Patrick's Day, Ryan marches in New York City's parade, continuing a family tradition that now spans three generations. His grandfather marched with the NYPD Emerald Society, his father with the Sanitation Emerald Society, and today Ryan takes his place with the Brehon Law Society, a New York-based organization for legal professionals of Irish heritage founded in 1978.

Just as influential as Ryan's Irish roots was the blue-collar culture of the neighborhood in which he grew up. Three of his uncles worked as carpenters, many of his friends' parents were city employees, and conversations around the family table often centered on fairness, workers' rights and the role unions played in protecting ordinary families. Those lessons were reinforced by his Jesuit education, whose guiding principle, "men and women for others," continues to influence how he practices law.

For Ryan, every case begins with a person, not a file.

Even so, the law itself fascinated him from an early age.

"My mother always loved legal dramas," he recalls. "We'd watch films like A Few Good Men together."

A history degree at Holy Cross naturally led him to St. John's University School of Law in Queens. His first experience of personal injury law, however, came from the opposite side of the courtroom, defending insurance claims rather than representing injured people.

Working for an insurance company gave Ryan valuable insight into how insurers evaluated cases and developed legal strategies. It also left him questioning whether he was standing on the right side.

"There were times where you felt like you were winning for Goliath rather than David," he says.

"You get a lot more satisfaction out of helping an individual than a big corporation," he adds.

Representing injured people ultimately felt like a natural extension of the values he had grown up with. Ryan says those principles were reinforced by life in a union household.

"The union's there to kind of fight for the rank and file," he says. "I feel like personal injury is a bit of a natural extension of that."

That commitment now extends well beyond individual cases. Each year, Ryan travels to Albany to lobby for stronger protections for workers. He has written on the subject for union publications, lectured at the New York State Trial Lawyers Association's trial institute and now serves on the association's Board of Directors, where he is one of its youngest members. He also co-chairs its Statewide New Lawyer Committee.

Then came a moment that made the decision deeply personal.

After the September 11 attacks, Ryan recalls that his father was working in sanitation at Ground Zero almost every day for the first six months. Like so many first responders and recovery workers, he later became ill and was forced to fight for disability benefits himself.

Dennis Ryan and his family.

"Seeing the lawyers who took on those cases made me realize that's the kind of lawyer I wanted to be," he says. "Not the person on the other side fighting against them."

Today, Ryan represents claimants through the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, continuing the same work that first inspired him as he watched attorneys fight for workers like his father.

From that point on, personal injury law became about far more than litigation. It became about standing beside the very people he had grown up admiring.

After nearly nine years at a Manhattan personal injury firm, Ryan took the leap and established his own practice.

Today, Ryan's Queens-based practice has recovered millions of dollars for injured New Yorkers, representing clients involved in workplace accidents, construction incidents, and motor vehicle collisions. Since opening The Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan in April 2019, he has earned a reputation for taking cases to trial when insurers refuse to make what he believes are fair settlement offers.

"I probably started before I was completely ready," he admits with a laugh.

Like many first-time business owners, he quickly discovered that law school teaches you how to practice law, but not necessarily how to run a business.

"There were definitely times that were daunting," he says.

Ryan credits New York's close-knit Irish American legal community with helping him navigate those early years. Through organizations such as the Brehon Law Society, he found experienced lawyers who were generous with both their time and advice.

"I've made great friends through it," he says. "Not only how to be a better lawyer, but how to be a better business person."

"It gives you confidence to see people who've done it successfully," he says. "When you hit roadblocks, there are people you can lean on."

"No one's an island unto themselves," he adds. "There are still other people who are there to help you."

Seven years later, what began as a solo practice has grown into a team of seven, although Ryan says the firm's expansion will continue thoughtfully rather than rapidly.

"We're not hiring just for the sake of hiring," he explains. "We're looking for the right people so we can help more clients while maintaining the quality of service we're known for."

Ryan is equally quick to credit the people around him for the firm's continued success. He points to Director of Operations Nick Hudson as someone whose strengths complement his own, particularly in modernizing the practice.

"If I only hired people who saw things the way I saw them," he says, "we'd be banging our heads against the wall. I really value the innovative work my team members demonstrate. It ultimately makes things work better."

Laughing that he is "a bit of a Neanderthal" when it comes to technology, Ryan says embracing artificial intelligence has allowed the firm to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time serving clients. But he is equally emphatic that technology remains just a tool. Every piece of AI-generated work is carefully reviewed by a member of the team to ensure accuracy, quality and the high standard of service clients expect.

The firm's work has not gone unnoticed. Ryan was named one of the New York Times' Top Attorneys in Metro New York in 2019, while Super Lawyers has recognized him as a New York Metro Rising Star every year since 2014, an honor reserved for just 2.5 percent of practicing attorneys under the age of 40. He has also been named to The National Trial Lawyers' Top 40 Under 40 list and recognized by the Irish Echo as one of its Top 30 Irish Americans. He is licensed to practice law in both New York and New Jersey.

Away from the courtroom, Ryan remains committed to giving back. He volunteers as a mock trial judge at St. John's University School of Law, supports the American Bar Association's Military Pro Bono Project for active-duty service members and their families, and works with the Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office, which provides free legal guidance to low-income New Yorkers.

Running a growing law firm leaves little room for idle time, but Ryan has learned the importance of balance. Away from the office, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing softball with former high school teammates, golfing and cheering on the New York Mets alongside his brother, uncle and cousin. Building a team he trusts has also given him the freedom to remain active within the Irish American community and continue giving back beyond the courtroom.

For Ryan, success isn't measured solely in verdicts, settlement figures or the growth of his firm. It's measured in moments when a client leaves the courtroom knowing their future is a little more secure.

"For us, we have a lot of cases," he says. "For most of these clients, this is their only case and so much depends on it."

"It's a person, and it's a family," he says. "It's not just a case."

Despite the awards, the growing practice and the professional recognition, Ryan believes his purpose has remained consistent.

"Those are the people I grew up with," he says. "Those are the people we represent now."