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Ryan A. Lee

Ryan Lee is a partner in the firm's Construction and Infrastructure practice group. With his engineering background and practical construction experience, Ryan is a trusted advisor for project owners, developers, contractors, and designers for their construction-related transactional and litigation matters. Ryan is highly skilled at negotiating and drafting contracts for a variety of project types and delivery methods. During his career, Ryan has drafted design and construction contracts on all major industry forms, including AIA, DBIA, ConsensusDocs, and EJCDC, as well as bespoke agreements. Likewise, he has advised clients on all major project delivery methods with particular experience in EPC, design-build, and construction manager structures. Due to his sought-after advice, Ryan has represented clients across a broad range of industries including in the manufacturing, industrial, renewable energy, food and beverage, education, and healthcare industries. 

While Ryan is adept at assisting clients avoid disputes through early intervention, Ryan has also successfully guided his clients through all facets of the litigation process, from pre-litigation mediation to trial or arbitration to appeals where he has successfully argued before all three divisions of the Tennessee Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court. In addition to his primary construction practice, Ryan also regularly represents clients in commercial, governmental regulatory, and real estate disputes.

Prior to joining the firm, Ryan served as of counsel at a full-service U.S. law firm where he focused his practice in construction and commercial litigation. He advised his clients on a variety of matters, including disputes related to design and construction defects, mechanic’s and materialmen’s liens, contractor licensing, and Prompt Pay act and other payment issues. Ryan also has considerable commercial litigation and government regulatory experience based on his time in private practice in Chicago and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Construction Law in Nashville, 2025
  • Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Recommended Lawyer for Construction (including construction litigation), 2024
  • Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law, Class of 2024
  • Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel (TACC)
    • Education Chair, November 2023-present
    • Member, 2019-present
  • Member, Tennessee Bar Association, Construction Section
  • Member, American Bar Association, Construction Forum
  • Speaker, “Foreign Owners Contracting in the United States,” TACC Spring Meeting, 14 April 2023.
  • Presenter, “Boilerplate Language in Construction Contracts: Avoiding Unintended Consequences, Implementing Practical Solutions,” Strafford Publishing, 14 November 2023
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