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attorney RYAN O. VETTLESON

bio
education
admission
recognition
top case results
bio

About RYAN

Ryan solves problems. He has been litigating and trying civil cases for 20 years. He uses his extensive litigation experience and people skills to resolve complex cases when possible, and he relies on his trial skill when settlement is not an option. Throughout the litigation process, he uses his writing talents, honed by years of drafting briefs in complex matters and teaching legal writing, to successfully convey his clients’ positions to opposing counsel and the court.

Ryan has practiced extensively in various areas of civil rights, personal injury, commercial litigation, product liability, and employment litigation. He has tried numerous cases to verdict both on his own and as part of a trial team. Throughout this representation, one thing has been constant: his determination to achieve the best results possible for his clients. His drive and work ethic have been recognized by his peers as he has been named a “Super Lawyer” the last three years and was a “Rising Star” numerous times before that.

Ryan graduated with honors and high distinction from the University of Minnesota Morris and attended the University of Minnesota Law School, graduating cum laude in 2001. He then clerked for Judge Thomas Kalitowski at the Minnesota Court of Appeals before moving to private practice. He was a partner at a mid-sized litigation firm in Minneapolis and then went to a small boutique law firm. In addition to his private practice experience, Ryan has taught legal writing as an instructor at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Ryan has represented wrongfully injured individuals in police misconduct cases and jailor deliberate indifference matters. He represented a woman injured in a no-knock warrant who suffered terrible burns to her legs from a flash-bang grenade, resulting in a $1,000,000 settlement. He also represented a woman who suffered multiple fractures to her wrist after an officer pushed her down even though she was already on crutches and was making no threatening movements—which resulted in a $450,000 settlement. He received a total judgment after trial of over $290,000 for a woman who was struck in the face by an officer in downtown Minneapolis just for seemingly standing on the sidewalk at bar close. He also received a total judgment after trial of over $270,000 for a young man who was hit in the head with a police flashlight for no reason.

Ryan has significant experience representing individuals in automobile crash cases as well as other negligence matters. In 2021, he settled a wrongful death suit for $1.5 million where the defendant driver crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic and caused a head-on crash resulting in a death. Previously, he helped recover $3 million for a husband and wife after the wife was severely injured when her vehicle was struck by a commercial truck. Ryan also represented a couple and obtained all available insurance in a pre-suit settlement of $500,000 stemming from a terrible crash where the at-fault driver died. He similarly received all available insurance in a settlement of $500,000 after a 16-year old rear-seat passenger was injured when the car she was riding in drifted over the centerline and crashed into a school bus.

Ryan also has experience representing corporations in significant contract disputes and property damage claims. He was part of a litigation team representing GE in a $400 million suit by a power provider over the catastrophic failure of a low pressure turbine at a coal-fired power plant. He has also represented a medical device manufacturer and supplier in a dispute with a medical provider over as series of lease agreements.

Ryan’s legal experience and innate adaptability as a trial lawyer offer a fantastic foundation to address your legal issue. He is ready to take on and solve your problems.

education

Education

J.D. University of Minnesota Law School, cum laude

B.A. University of Minnesota Morris, with honors and high distinction

Majors: History and English

admission

Bar Admissions

State of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of Western Wisconsin

U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota

Eighth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals

recognition

Recognition

Super Lawyer: 2019-2022

Rising Star: 2008-2009, 2011, 2014-2016

Top 100 Trial Lawyers of Minnesota: 2014 by National Trial Lawyer

Litigation Star: 2014 by Benchmark Plaintiff

top case results

Top Case Results

  • In 2024, Ryan represented a woman who was walking across a crosswalk when she was struck by a Metro Transit police, causing pelvic fractures.  The case settled for $300,000.  
  • In 2023, Ryan recovered $1.15 million in a wrongful death suit stemming from a detainee’s suicide just hours after arriving at the Hennepin County Jail from the psychiatry ward at HCMC.
  • In 2023, Ryan recovered $750,000 (all available insurance) for the wrongful death of a woman killed in a crash with a drunk driver. 
  • In 2021 Ryan recovered $1.5 million in a wrongful death case stemming from a car crash where the defendant driver crossed the center-line.
  • Ryan helped recover $3 million for a husband and wife after the wife was severely injured when her vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer.
  • Ryan represented a woman severely burned in a no-knock warrant by police use of a flash-bang grenade, resulting in a $1,000,000 settlement.
  • Ryan represented a woman who was on crutches and was pushed down by police and suffered multiple fractures to her wrist, resulting in a $450,000 settlement.
  • Ryan received a total judgment after trial of over $290,000 for a woman who was struck in the face by an officer in downtown Minneapolis just for seemingly standing on the sidewalk at bar close.