Education and Legal Experience

Anthony G. Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois but moved to Southwest Florida at a young age. He graduated from Venice High School in 1988 then moved on to the University of Florida where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1992. Mr. Ryan received his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in December 1997, where he graduated with honors. Mr. Ryan was admitted to the Florida Bar in April 1998.

During law school Mr. Ryan had a summer internship with the Public Defender’s Office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. During this internship Mr. Ryan, along with his supervisor, took part in his first three criminal jury trials. This experience helped Mr. Ryan realize that he not only could defend those accused of breaking the law, but that he believed he was meant to become a criminal defense attorney.

After law school, in 1998, Mr. Ryan took a job with Vernis & Bowling of the Florida Keys in Islamorada, Florida, a statewide insurance defense firm. During his time at Vernis & Bowling, Mr. Ryan helped defend numerous clients including the Florida Department of Transportation, the local State Attorney’s Office and the Mosquito Control District of Monroe County, to name just a few.

Mr. Ryan next worked for the Public Defender of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Ft. Pierce, Florida in 1999. During his two years at the Public Defender’s office, Mr. Ryan defended literally thousands of people accused with a wide range of criminal offenses from relatively simple traffic crimes, juvenile offenses and misdemeanors all the way up to first degree felonies punishable by life in prison. While at the public defender’s office, Mr. Ryan gained invaluable trial experience and began to hone his craft as a trial attorney.

Mr. Ryan entered private practice in 2001 and has happily dedicated himself to representing the criminally accused in all state courts for more than a decade. Mr. Ryan is a Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer, which is the highest level of recognition granted by The Florida Bar.

Mr. Ryan is a member of the Sarasota County Bar Association, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Sarasota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Federal Bar admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Florida.