About Ryan
Ryan J. Duplechin joined the Beasley Allen team in 2015 and was promoted to principal in 2023. He works on product liability cases, focusing on medical devices and medicines.
Ryan has also worked on complex legal appeals, dealing with issues like whether a court has the authority to hear a case and whether a government is protected from lawsuits. He knows a lot about legal cases related to joint replacements, dietary supplements, and prescription drugs.
In addition to working on cases, Ryan leads the Summer Associate Program at Beasley Allen. This job lets him guide young lawyers and help shape the firm’s future.
Ryan was born in Birmingham, Alabama when his dad was attending law school, so he’s always been around the legal profession.
Community Involvement
Ryan really cares about his community. He played a significant role in starting a hotline to help people with legal questions about COVID-19. This project was a team effort with the Young Lawyers Section of the Alabama State Bar and the Volunteer Lawyers Program. Because of his hard work, the president of the Alabama State Bar gave Ryan a special award in 2020.
He helps out as a coach for the Saint James School trial team. This team is part of the YMCA Youth Judicial, which is like a practice court competition for students all over the state.
Ryan is also part of the YMCA Boys Work Committee, where he and other young people in Montgomery work together to raise money for kids’ football.
Education
Ryan started his college journey at Florida State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. This experience really motivated him to become a lawyer and prepared him for the challenging studies ahead.
Ryan decided to continue his education at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law for this reason. While at Faulkner, Ryan joined the Faulkner Law Review and the Board of Advocates.
Being part of these groups helped him understand the law better, made him think more critically, and learn a lot about legal rules. This education helped build a strong base for his career in law.
- Alabama (2017)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit (2021)
- U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois (2021)
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin (2020)
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama (2017)
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama (2020)
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (2018)
- Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law (J.D., 2017)
- Florida State University (B.S., 2013)
2012 – Current
Career
Representing clients in courtrooms around the U.S. including state and federal courts.
Ryan has worked as lead attorney in court cases, talking to judges in both federal and state courts. He has also written legal documents for the Alabama Supreme Court and the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Ryan has published law review articles in Tennessee Law Review and Faulkner Law Review. He has authored articles about best practices in MDL discovery for AAJ’s Trial Magazine. He wrote a support letter for groups called the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and the Alabama Association for Justice (ALAJ), which was important work.
Right now, Ryan is working on cases that deal with drug companies not warning families about the risk of using acetaminophen during pregnancy and its connection to autism. He also leads a team working on cases related to a drug called Ozempic.
Professional Associations
Ryan is a member of the Alabama State Bar and is the vice president of its Young Lawyers Section. He’s also on the executive committee for the Young Lawyers at the Birmingham Bar Association. The Alabama State Bar chose him to be in the Leadership Forum Class 17.
He’s involved with groups fighting for justice, like the American Association for Justice and the Alabama Association for Justice. Ryan helped start a group within AAJ that deals with legal issues about medicine called the Ozempic/GLP-1 RA Litigation Group. He’s also part of the Preemption Law Litigation Group, which deals with laws about whether federal or state laws should be followed in certain court cases. Plus, he serves as a board member for Emerging Leaders and is part of ALAJ’s Amicus Curiae Committee.
Ryan is very knowledgeable about gathering information for legal cases and was chosen to be a part of a team for the State Rules Project of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model.
Memberships
- Alabama Association for Justice
- Alabama State Bar
- American Association for Justice
- Amicus Curiae Committee
- Birmingham Bar Association
- Electronic Discovery Reference Model
- Emerging Leaders Section, Executive Board
- Federal Bar Association
- Helping Heroes in Healthcare Task Force (2020-2021)
- Hugh Maddox Inn of Court
- Leadership Forum Class 17
- Legal Food Frenzy Task Force (2023-2024)
- Membership Relations Task Force, Co-Chair (2019-2020)
- Montgomery County Bar Association
- Montgomery Volunteer Lawyers Program
- New Lawyers Division, Publications Committee
- Ozempic/ GLP-1 RA Litigation Group
- Preemption Law Litigation Group
- State Rules Project Member
- YMCA Boys Work Committee
- Young Lawyers Section
- Young Lawyers Section, Executive Committee
- Young Lawyers Section, Executive Committee, Vice President
Notable Cases
Ryan worked at Beasley Allen on several cases involving joint replacements such as DePuy Attune and Bone Cements and pharmaceutical drugs such as Xarelto, Belviq, and acetaminophen. He has been the lead attorney in oral arguments before various federal and state courts and has written briefs before the Alabama Supreme Court and New Jersey Supreme Court.
Ryan has recently authored an amicus brief on behalf of AAJ and ALAJ. In this case, he argued that Alabama’s product liability law requires drug manufacturers to provide doctors with adequate warnings and instructions for safe use. The Alabama Supreme Court ultimately agreed with Ryan’s argument and ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.
Currently, Ryan is focused on litigation involving Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications in the multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is also a key member of the Discovery Committee in an MDL involving acetaminophen in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ryan is also involved in litigating cases involving kratom linked to deaths, seizures, and other major complications.
Awards & Recognitions
Publicity
Ryan has written articles for various law review journals and publications. He was the first to predict how product liability law would apply in the event of someone hacking a self-driving car, which was featured in the Tennessee Law Review. Ryan has also authored articles on opioid litigation and FDA clinical trials for the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. His most recent publication was on the best practices in MDL discovery in AAJ’s Trial Magazine.
Ryan’s publications have been cited in national law journals, including American Law of Products Liability, Owen & Davis on Products Liability, Boston University Law Review, and NYU Law Review. He has also been quoted by renowned publications such as The Associated Press, Trial Magazine, and Law360.
Awards and Recognitions
- Alabama State Bar President’s Award (2020)
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