Constant Legal Group
Ryan Cavanaugh
Partner · Lead Trial Counsel · MDL Leadership · National Practice
A trial lawyer with $50M+ recovered for clients, dozens of jury trials to verdict, and leadership roles in two active federal MDLs.
Constant Legal Group
Ryan Cavanaugh grew up in a household where law was not just a career, it was a calling. As the son of an attorney, Ryan learned what it means to be an attorney before he ever set foot in a courtroom. To Ryan, it means standing beside someone who does not have the power, the resources, or the access that the other side takes for granted, and making sure that imbalance does not determine the outcome.
That belief has guided every case Ryan has tried, every settlement he has negotiated, and every client he has represented. At Constant Legal Group, this belief shapes our entire approach to institutional accountability litigation – the understanding that when a church protects an abuser, when a corporation conceals what it knows about a dangerous drug, when a hotel looks the other way while trafficking happens on its property, real people absorb the consequences.
Ryan’s job, the one he has done for his entire career, is to make sure those people who were wronged have a voice that is as powerful as the institution that failed them. He has done it in courtrooms, in MDL proceedings, in settlement negotiations, and in front of juries – recovering more than $50 million on behalf of clients in complex cases.
The Trial Record – What Ryan Has Done in Court
Ryan is, at his core, a trial lawyer. He has served as lead trial counsel in dozens of jury trials taken to verdict. This record matters enormously, because it shows institutional defendants that CLG is not a firm that merely threatens litigation – it is a firm that goes to trial. That distinction changes the settlement dynamic in every case CLG handles.
His most notable trial result speaks for itself. Ryan served as lead trial counsel in Genet v. Union Carbide Corporation, in which a jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict of $8,291,000 against one of the largest industrial corporations in American history. That verdict was not luck – it was the product of meticulous preparation, witness strategy, and courtroom execution.
Beyond the courtroom, Ryan has taken and defended hundreds of depositions, negotiated over $50 million in settlements, and served in formal leadership roles in two major federal MDL proceedings – a level of institutional trust the plaintiff’s bar extends only to attorneys who have demonstrated both technical sophistication and professional judgment.
MDL Leadership
Plaintiff’s Executive Committee
IN RE: AngioDynamics, Inc., and Navilyst Medical, Inc., Port Catheter Products Liability Litigation
MDL No. 3125
Plaintiff’s Steering Committee
IN RE: Bard Implanted Port Catheter Products Liability Litigation
MDL No. 3081
A Record of Results
$20,000,000
Settlement – Group of plaintiffs injured by a defective medical device
$8,291,000
Trial Verdict – Genet v. Union Carbide Corporation, et al. (Lead Trial Counsel)
$8,250,000
Settlement – Single survivor of sexual abuse against a Southern Baptist Church
$6,750,000
Settlement – Group of plaintiffs injured by a defective prescription drug
$3,500,000
Settlement – Family of a deceased railroad worker
$1,250,000
Settlement – Single survivor of sexual abuse against a California elementary school
What Ryan Cavanaugh Handles
Sexual Abuse – Institutional Civil Litigation
Ryan pursues sexual abuse civil cases where the institution bears responsibility alongside – and often more than – the individual abuser. He recently secured an $8,250,000 settlement for a single survivor against a Southern Baptist Church and a $1,250,000 settlement against a California elementary school.
Human Trafficking – TVPRA Civil Claims
Ryan represents trafficking survivors pursuing civil accountability against third-party businesses – hotels and corporations – that knowingly benefited from their exploitation under 18 U.S.C. § 1595, applying the document-intensive, multi-defendant approach he has built his career around.
Drug & Medical Device Injuries – Mass Tort
Mass tort is where Ryan’s national career began, and where his institutional knowledge runs deepest. He has worked on numerous drug and device mass torts, culminating in his current Executive Committee and Steering Committee roles in two active federal MDL proceedings.
Speaking & Professional Leadership
Ohio Association for Justice
“Depositions: From Investigation to Powerful Presentation at Trial” – November 7, 2026
PALS – Ohio Association for Justice
Presentation on Union Carbide litigation strategy and corporate defendant accountability
Local High Schools – Ongoing
Education & Bar Admissions
Bar Admissions
- State of Ohio
- State of Arizona
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana
- J.D. — Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
- B.A. — John Carroll University
Beyond the Law
The Person Behind the Practice
There is a reason Ryan Cavanaugh is good at standing in front of a jury and telling a story that matters – he has been doing it for most of his professional life, both inside and outside the courtroom. Ryan currently works as a college football color analyst for ESPN, a high school football and basketball color analyst for Spectrum Sports across Ohio, and a mixed martial arts play-by-play announcer. He has also hosted sports talk shows and previously worked as a college football analyst for Fox Sports.
That body of work is not incidental to his legal career. The skills that make a broadcast analyst compelling – synthesizing complex action in real time, contextualizing it for an audience, telling the story of what is happening and why it matters – are precisely the skills that make a trial lawyer effective. When he is not in court or in the broadcast booth, Ryan coaches youth sports for his children in the Cleveland area.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of cases does Ryan Cavanaugh handle?
Ryan Cavanaugh handles sexual abuse civil litigation, human trafficking TVPRA civil claims, and mass tort cases involving dangerous drugs and defective medical devices. He also handles personal injury, wrongful death, and aviation cases. Ryan serves as lead trial counsel and has formal MDL leadership roles in two active federal mass tort proceedings – AngioDynamics Port Catheter (MDL No. 3125) and Bard Implanted Port Catheter (MDL No. 3081). He is admitted in Ohio, Arizona, and multiple federal courts.
What is Ryan Cavanaugh’s trial record?
What is Ryan Cavanaugh’s role in MDL proceedings?
Ryan serves on the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in the AngioDynamics Port Catheter MDL (No. 3125) and on the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in the Bard Implanted Port Catheter MDL (No. 3081). These leadership roles place him at the center of national litigation strategy in two significant active medical device MDLs.
How can I contact Ryan Cavanaugh for a case evaluation?
Ryan Cavanaugh and the Constant Legal Group team offer free, confidential case evaluations nationally. Contact CLG at 855-906-2561. Consultations are available by phone or video. Every inquiry is completely confidential and there is no obligation.
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