Ryan Chabot’s practice focuses on defending class actions and complex civil litigation matters at the trial and appellate levels. He has substantial experience across a broad range of complex civil litigation, especially class actions, at the trial level and on appeal in federal and state courts throughout the country, with a particular focus on federal and state consumer protection law. His litigation experience includes work for companies in a wide variety of industries—including automotive, consumer products, education, entertainment, financial services, gaming, health care, insurance, social media, technology and theme parks. For these clients, Mr. Chabot has defended against claims under all types of state and federal consumer protection law—including false advertising and unfair business practices claims under state unfair and deceptive trade practices law especially California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act; antitrust claims under the Sherman Act; fair lending claims under ECOA, FHA, TILA, § 1981; wage-and-hour and other employment claims under various state and federal labor law; racketeering claims under RICO; breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA; and many state statutory and common law tort, contract and business practices claims. 

Mr. Chabot’s experience includes a robust appellate practice, where Mr. Chabot has represented and advised clients on interlocutory appeals—especially ones related to class certification—and post-judgment appeals before numerous federal courts of appeals and state intermediate appellate and supreme courts nationwide. In his practice, Mr. Chabot regularly presents oral argument in the federal courts of appeals, as well as in federal district court and in state court.

Mr. Chabot also maintains an active pro bono practice. His pro bono work includes regular representation of clients before the federal courts of appeals, especially in the areas of prisoners’ rights and immigration law. Mr. Chabot has led teams at WilmerHale successfully overturning state-court murder convictions on federal writs of habeas corpus, challenging federal methods of execution, defending post-trial damages awards for constitutional violations under § 1983, and obtaining asylum or defeating removal proceedings in petitions for review in the federal courts of appeal. Mr. Chabot also maintains an active pro bono practice in the area of the Second Amendment, supporting commonsense gun regulation across the country. 

Prior to joining WilmerHale, Mr. Chabot served as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael A. Chagares of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Honorable Carol Bagley Amon of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Mr. Chabot graduated from Columbia Law School, where he was a James Kent Scholar and recipient of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize and the executive managing editor of the Columbia Law Review.