Ryan P. Avery is a Partner at Seder Law and practices in the firm’s Real Estate, Construction, and Labor & Employment law practice groups. With a focus on resolving disputes, Ryan represents both individual and corporate clients in various legal matters.

Having litigated a wide array of labor and employment claims recognized under state and federal law, Ryan’s experience spans breach of contract, unpaid wages, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination cases. He has achieved remarkable success, securing millions of dollars in compensation for individual employees while skillfully defending small and medium-sized businesses against baseless claims. Ryan also assists clients in drafting and reviewing executive employment contracts, non-competition agreements, separation agreements, and personnel manuals.

Ryan also represents developers, contractors, material suppliers, and homeowners in diverse legal matters, encompassing defective and dangerous building conditions, time and cost overruns, lien and bond claims, land use/title disputes, and zoning/permitting appeals.

Throughout his career, Ryan has secured favorable outcomes for clients before both judges, juries and private arbitration proceedings. Ryan’s legal representation has also been sought in panel and interlocutory appeals before various courts, including the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Appellate Division of the Massachusetts District Court, and the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ryan routinely represents clients before state agencies, including the Department of Environmental Protection, the Commission Against Discrimination, the Department of Secondary and Early Education, the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, the Division of Unemployment Assistance, the Division of Administrative Law Appeals, the Department of Labor Relations, and the Division of Public Licensure. His is also an appointed Hearing Officer for the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, overseeing disciplinary proceedings against individual attorneys.

Ryan was appointed as a Special Prosecutor for the Middle District (Worcester County) by District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr., in 2020. He also serves as a Trustee of the Worcester Law Library Trust. Ryan will assume the role of President-Elect of the Worcester County Bar Association (“WCBA”) from 2023 to 2024, followed by the esteemed position of President of the WCBA in 2024-2025.

Bar Admissions
  • Massachusetts (2010)
  • New York (2010)
  • Rhode Island (2014)
  • U.S. District Court (D-Mass.) (2012)
  • U.S. Federal Court of Claims (2016)
  • U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals (2022)
Education
  • B.A., International Studies, magna cum laude, American University, 2007
    • Presidential Scholarship
  • J.D., Suffolk University Law School, 2010
    • Transnational Law Review
Representative Cases
  • Brown v. Entin, 100 Mass. App. Ct. 1125 (2022)
  • Callbeck v. Fallon Community Health Plan, Inc., 480 F. Supp. 3d 308 (2020)
  • Makowiec v. United States, 137 Fed. Cl. 591 (2018)
  • Marlowe v. Keene State College, 189 F. Supp. 3d 326 (D. Mass. 2016)

Publications
  • Gratuitous Tenancies:  A Conundrum of Massachusetts Property Law, Massachusetts Bar Association Section Review (May/June 2022).
  • Evaluating OT Policies in Anticipation of FLSA Overhaul, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (August 7, 2014).
  • Fair Shake or an Offer They Can’t Refuse? The Protection of Cooperating Alien Witnesses Under United States Law, 33 Suffolk Transnat’l. L. Rev. 347 (2010).
Professional Engagements
  • Federal Bar Association, Massachusetts Chapter
  • Massachusetts Bar Association
    • Mock Trial Competition Judge
    • Co-Chair, Real Estate Section Council; House of Delegates (2021-2022)
    • Worcester County Tiered Mentoring Program (2017-2019)
  • Rhode Island Bar Association
  • Worcester County Bar Association
    • Executive Committee (2017-2020; 2022 – )
      • Sub-Committee or Section Chair (2014 – )
        • Labor & Employment
        • Superior Court
        • Professional Responsibility
  • Greater Milford Area Bar Association
    • President (2022-2023)
    • Executive Board (2013 – 2020)
Honors and Awards
  • SuperLawyers – Rising Star (2019-2022)
  • Worcester County Bar Association President’s Award (2020)
  • Construction Lawyers Society of America Fellow