Overview
David Ryan is of counsel in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson. He is an experienced trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor with extensive experience in national security, cybercrime, trade secret theft and complex criminal litigation.
Prior to rejoining the firm, David spent nearly a decade at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where he most recently served as Chief of the National Security Division. In that role, he managed a division of 25 assistant U.S. attorneys (AUSAs) and 15 staff members in the Cyber & Intellectual Property Crimes and Terrorism & Export Crimes Sections, supervising investigations and prosecutions involving cyberattacks, trade secret theft and economic espionage, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, export control and sanctions violations.
David previously led the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and the General Crimes Section, where he trained and supervised more than 30 AUSAs investigating federal crimes involving government benefits fraud, weapons and narcotics trafficking and child exploitation. As an AUSA, he secured indictments and convictions in more than 75 federal criminal cases, including prosecutions involving terrorism, murder-for-profit, trade secret theft, export violations and public corruption.
David began his career as an associate at MTO, where he represented clients in trial and investigations across industries including technology, entertainment and financial services.
Capabilities
Industries
More
- Office of the Director of National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation, 2024
- Federal Bar Association Younger Federal Lawyer Award, 2022
- Anti-Defamation League Helen and Joseph Sherwood Prize for Combatting Hate, 2022
- FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterterrorism Investigation, 2022
- Executive Office for United States Attorneys Director’s Award for Superior Performance, 2021
- Lecturer in Law, USC Gould School of Law, Counterterrorism, Privacy and Civil Liberties (2023-2025)
- Global Health Corps, Founding Director (2007-2010) and Member of Board of Directors (2010-2017)
Publications
- Author, The Effects of Section 201 Safeguards on U.S. Industries, 44 Geo. J. Int’l L. 249 (2012).
Speaking Engagements
- Presenter, “Protecting Trade Secrets from Nation State Threats,” Disruptive Technology Strike Force Annual Summit, Phoenix, Arizona (2024)
- Panelist, “Complex Issues in Counterintelligence and Export Control and Sanctions Investigations & Prosecutions,” U.S. Department of Justice, National Advocacy Center (2024)
- Presenter, “Maximizing Criminal Process and Intelligence Tools to Build Successful National Security Investigations and Prosecutions,” FBI Los Angeles Special Agent Annual Training (2022–2024)
- Moderator, “Protecting Your Technology and Research,” U.S. Attorney’s Office Semiconductor Security Summit (2024)
- Panelist, “Charging Violent Extremists Who Commit Domestic Terrorism Attacks,” U.S. Department of Justice, National Advocacy Center (2024)
- Panelist, “White Collar Trends in 2023: A Year in Review,” American Bar Association, White Collar Crime Committee of Southern California (2023)
- Panelist, “Reacting to the Potential Terrorist/Mass Casualty Attack,” U.S. Department of Justice, National Advocacy Center (2023)
