Ryan Richardson is a Chief Assistant City Attorney. As the head of the office’s Advisory Division, he manages all of the office’s advisory teams, serves as the primary parliamentarian to the City Council, and serves as a member of the office’s Executive Management Team.

Ryan’s legal career began at Jones Day, where he worked on major transactional and litigation matters. He subsequently founded his own law firm and also taught legal writing as an adjunct professor at USC Law School. In his private practice, Ryan represented employees against Fortune 500 employers in harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation and wage/hour litigation.

Ryan has been working for the City of Oakland since 2013. Prior to his current role, he supervised the team that advises City management on employment matters, represents the City in related hearings, advises the City during labor negotiations, and supports the City’s police–accountability efforts. In this role, Ryan helped finalize Measures LL and S1 to create and strengthen the Police Commission, Community Police Review Agency, and Office of the Inspector General.

Ryan is a graduate of Howard University and the University of Southern California Law School.