Ryan Gallagher is a cybersecurity, privacy, artificial intelligence, and technology attorney who helps organizations manage legal risk, respond to incidents, and build practical governance programs for modern data-driven operations. He works closely with executives, boards, in-house counsel, privacy professionals, and information security teams to develop compliance programs, security policies, incident response plans, vendor risk strategies, and governance frameworks designed to reduce legal exposure and strengthen organizational resilience.

Ryan has counseled national and multinational organizations on privacy and security obligations arising under state privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act and Tennessee Information Protection Act, as well as federal laws, regulatory guidance, and industry frameworks applicable to healthcare, financial services, government, classified, children’s, and other sensitive data. His practice includes privacy program development, cybersecurity governance, AI policy and risk management, contract and vendor review, workforce training, and strategic advice on emerging technology issues.

Ryan has also guided hundreds of organizations through the response, investigation, and communication challenges that follow cybersecurity incidents. His experience spans matters ranging from misplaced devices, business email compromise, and wire fraud to complex ransomware events affecting national and global operations. In those matters, Ryan helps clients coordinate legal strategy, preserve privilege, engage appropriate third-party resources, manage regulatory and contractual obligations, and minimize business interruption, legal exposure, and reputational harm.

Ryan earned his J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and his M.S. in Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy from New York University School of Law and Tandon School of Engineering, where his studies focused on the business, regulatory, and technical dimensions of privacy compliance and cyber risk management. Before law school, Ryan served in the U.S. Navy as a Supervisory Agent with the U.S. Navy Criminal Investigation Division, where he led federal criminal investigations as a military augmentee to certain U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Defense agencies.

Ryan lives in Nashville with his family and spends his free time entertaining his children, searching for the best meal in town, and failing to improve his golf swing.