Ryan is described in legal directories as “one of the top lawyers in the region”, “a go-to person for complex disputes” and “unshakeable even when under immense pressure.” He is listed on the The Legal 500 Arbitration Powerlist and recognised as an Arbitration Future Leader (Who’s Who Legal) and Litigation and Arbitration Rising Star (The Legal 500 EMEA). He is also the recipient of several industry awards, having been recognised on the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers List (Europe) and voted UK Legal Personality of the Year.

Ryan acts on behalf of sovereign states, sovereign wealth funds, national oil companies, conglomerates, private equity firms, contractors and hedge funds. He has acted in arbitrations under all the major institutional rules and litigated in the High Court, London (Commercial and TCC); the Grand Court, Cayman Islands; the financial centre and local courts of the United Arab Emirates; and local courts across the Middle East, including in support of enforcement matters. Ryan’s experience on major capital projects extends to acting as project counsel and advising on risk allocation and contract administration, including on multibillion-dollar marquee projects.

Legal directories note that Ryan has “a heavyweight construction and infrastructure disputes practice” and carry quotes from clients and peers which describe him as “very intelligent”, “extremely dedicated” and “an exceptional lawyer” who possesses “an impressive capacity to manage clients and experts on very large-scale disputes”. Client feedback in The Legal 500 EMEA 2024 includes: “Ryan Whelan has star quality. Our company had a difficult dispute which had not been going particularly well. Ryan turned the matter around and delivered the first success on the matter in two years. He is the go-to person for disputes, and a trusted advisor to the business. He is absolutely relentless in pursuing the client’s interest.”

Other verified client quotes include: “We use Ryan as lead counsel when an issue is particularly thorny. He is extremely smart, strategic in approach and very hard-working. Our senior business colleagues also really rate Ryan because his advice is commercially astute and he explains complex points of law and strategy in a way that is easy to understand. We use a number of firms and he really stands out as impressive.” (General Counsel, global energy company, represented on various matters).

Ryan is the editor of the Construction Disputes Law Review (2023) and co-author of the chapter on Concurrent Delay in the Global Arbitration Review (GAR) Guide to Construction Arbitration (5th Edition). At university, Ryan graduated top of his class with first class honours and was elected Law Society President. He received several academic awards, including the Cruickshank Prize (top honours graduate), the Edmond Prize in Law (best record in criminal law, contract, tort, property, family and land law) and the Quincentenary Prize (jointly awarded by the University and the City’s Lord Provost). Ryan is the founder and chair of ProBonoSkills.com, a not-for-profit venture that provides students who do pro bono work with access to high-quality on-demand training so that they can do more, help more and achieve more for their communities.