Patrick C. Ryan is the patriarch of the Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons law firm, having co-founded it in 1984 after serving for a number of years as a lawyer and administrator in state government and as a Workers’ Compensation Court judge.
Patrick C. Ryan is the patriarch of the Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons law firm, having co-founded it in 1984 after serving for a number of years as a lawyer and administrator in state government and as a Workers’ Compensation Court judge.After receiving a B.S. degree in business administration from Central State University in 1961, Patrick worked as a claims adjuster at Hartford Insurance for several years before deciding that he wanted to pursue a career in law. He continued to work for Hartford for a time after he enrolled at Oklahoma City University School of Law and then took a job with the State Insurance Commissioner’s office, also during law school.
Patrick received his J.D. in 1969 and remained in the Insurance Commissioner’s office, and he was quickly promoted to general counsel. He subsequently moved on to jobs as the administrator of the Oklahoma Securities Department and the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Affairs, both gubernatorial appointments. He was then appointed to a judgeship on the Workers’ Compensation Court and a year later became the Court’s presiding judge, a position he would hold for the next five years before deciding that the time had come to go into private practice.
Patrick joined forces with attorney Fred Boettcher in 1984 to launch the Oklahoma City law firm that is today known as Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons. Patrick and Fred focused their efforts on workers’ compensation cases and quickly built one of the biggest workers’ compensation practices in the state.
Read MoreSince then, the firm has expanded into other areas, including personal injury and social security disability cases, but it has held true to the founders’ goal of providing excellent client service in all areas.
“I think our key to success is that we’ve always done a good job for our clients, more than anything else,” Patrick says.
Patrick now works part-time “of counsel” to the firm. Looking back over his career, he considers his time as a judge on the Workers’ Compensation Court to be his top highlight. He also takes pride in the role he played in putting together the financing of the state office building that currently houses the Workers’ Compensation Court and several Court of Appeals offices.
In addition to his law practice, Patrick also found time to teach at Oklahoma City University School of Law as an adjunct professor for 16 years, teaching law students about insurance law and workers’ compensation law.
In his spare time, he enjoys freshwater fishing.
