Ryan Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick focuses his work on large-scale complex class actions and professional negligence and fiduciary claims litigation.

Insurance Class Actions

Kirkpatrick has is at the forefront of litigation that actively protects life insurance policy holders in breach of contract litigation against some of the country’s largest insurers. He has secured over $700 million in relief for plaintiffs in class actions against leading insurance companies including PHL Variable Life Insurance Company, Genworth, Voya, Lincoln, ReliaStar, Security Life of Denver, American General, North American, and John Hancock Life Insurance Company. Ryan is currently representing policyholders in a new wave of cost of insurance (“COI”) litigation arising from the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017.

Professional Negligence and Malpractice

Kirkpatrick served as lead counsel for John Fish, the Chairman and CEO of Suffolk Construction, in a case the Superior Court of Massachusetts against the law firm of Goulston &  Storrs over allegations of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and willful violations of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, arising out of a failed billion-dollar real estate development project in Boston’s Back Bay. Kirkpatrick obtained a highly favorable settlement after prevailing on motions to compel discovery and obtaining critical liability evidence. Read more.

Kirkpatrick is now serving as counsel to the Special Litigation Committee (SLC) for the Trust for Advised Portfolios in investigating professional negligence claims relating to the Infinity Q Diversified Alpha Fund.

BACKGROUND

Kirkpatrick rejoined Susman Godfrey in 2017 after spending four years as General Counsel and Senior Managing Director of McCourt Global, an alternative asset management firm. Kirkpatrick served as head of the New York office where he oversaw all legal affairs of the firm and its business verticals, including a $1 billion commercial real estate development joint venture, MG Sports & Media (which owned the LA Marathon and the French football club Olympique de Marseille, and co-owned Global Champions Tour and Global Champions League), and MG Capital (owner of a private direct lender and registered investment adviser).

While serving as Director of Global Champions League, Kirkpatrick initiated an EU competition law action against Fédération Equestre International (FEI), the international governing body for equestrian sports.  After obtaining a landmark preliminary injunction that was upheld by the Brussels Court of Appeals—and has implications for all international sports federations—Kirkpatrick negotiated a highly favorable settlement with the FEI. This use of EU competition law to effect worldwide relief for a client was reminiscent of one of Kirkpatrick’s first cases at Susman Godfrey, where he and Steve Susman guided start-up mainframe manufacturer Platform Solutions, Inc. to a $200 million buy-out by IBM following years of contentious of antitrust, patent infringement, and copyright infringement proceedings in both the Southern District of New York and the European Commission.

Kirkpatrick was first elected to the Susman Godfrey partnership in 2011. At the time, he was representing Frank McCourt and the Los Angeles Dodgers in connection with Mr. McCourt’s highly-publicized divorce and the team’s bankruptcy. This three-year representation culminated in a favorable settlement of the divorce, the sale of the Dodgers to Guggenheim Partners for $2.15 billion—the highest amount ever paid for a professional sports franchise—and the formation of a $1 billion joint venture with affiliates of Guggenheim Partners. Shortly following the sale, Mr. McCourt asked Kirkpatrick to help lead McCourt Global.

Since returning to the firm, Kirkpatrick has remained active in sports-related legal matters. Most recently, he represented John Bowlen, then-minority owner of the Denver Broncos, in connection with the $4.65 million sale of the Denver Broncos.