Ryan Liu

Ryan’s practice focuses on business litigation, including internal investigations, securities and contract disputes. Ryan cares deeply about Cooley’s pro bono mission to serve communities because of his background as a first-generation college graduate and the son of refugees and immigrants. His pro bono matters at Cooley have involved applications for asylum, appellate litigation before the California Supreme Court and a successful landmark federal civil rights lawsuit.

Ryan’s prior legal experience involves working for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Disability Rights program and Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic (VLSC). Through VLSC, Ryan represented veterans and veterans organizations in litigation and advocacy involving disability benefits, military sexual assault, and online fraud and disinformation targeting veterans. He represented the Black Veterans Project (BVP) and the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress (NVCLR) in filing Freedom of Information Act requests and suing the Department of Veterans Affairs for responsive records. Through Ryan’s work, BVP and NVCLR demonstrated that there were statistically significant differences in the rate at which Black veterans were granted veterans disability benefits compared to non-Black veterans, which attracted national attention and generated government action to tackle the disparity.

In addition to being an attorney, Ryan is also a nationally recognized advocate for accessible higher education. Locally, Ryan continues his involvement with the community college he graduated from –Pasadena City College (PCC). He speaks at local K-12 schools about higher education, mentors community college students through PCC’s Transfer Center and serves as program co-chair on PCC’s Asian American & Pacific Islander Advisory Committee. He also previously served as deputy campaign manager on a successful bond initiative that provided $565 million in funding for PCC to make necessary repairs and upgrades.

Nationally, Ryan has worked on higher education policy and advocacy in numerous capacities. Ryan was a policy fellow on the College Promise campaign, a bipartisan effort that pushed for tuition-free higher education and workforce development at community colleges across the US. He also served on the Education Policy Committee for Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, where he advised on the campaign’s higher education policy priorities. Ryan’s higher education work also expands internationally. At the University of Oxford, Ryan conducted research on higher education programs for adult learners in the UK and examined higher education systems from around the world.

Ryan’s writings have been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Forbes and NBC News. He has given talks and spoken on panels focused on civic engagement and higher education, including on Capitol Hill and at Reach Higher’s 2018 Beating the Odds Summit alongside former first lady Michelle Obama.

Ryan graduated from PCC as valedictorian and from Yale College with honors and distinction. He earned a Master of Science degree in higher education with honors from the University of Oxford and his JD from Yale Law School, where he chaired the student government and served on the executive board of the Yale Law Journal.