Ryan Beckett

Practice Areas

Antitrust, Competition & Fair-Trade Regulation, Government Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Election & Campaign Finance, Financial Services Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Business Torts & Unfair Competition, Government Relation and Class Actions

Career

Ryan is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice group. He has represented major consumer products manufacturers, financial services companies and other corporate entities in contract, consumer protection, intellectual property and antitrust matters. He is also experienced in governmental and elections litigation, representing the Mississippi Legislature and numerous statewide elected officers. He is also experienced in general commercial litigation, energy litigation and financial services litigation. Ryan is a registered lobbyist in the State of Mississippi, representing numerous technology and services companies.

Ryan’s recent experience includes defending the State of Mississippi in a two-week trial in 2024 before a three-judge federal panel over allegations related to legislative redistricting following the 2020 decennial Census. His experience also includes representing a major correctional technology vendor and obtaining a dismissal with prejudice on 12(b)(6) grounds in a consumer class action suit bringing civil RICO, fraud and consumer protection claims over rates, fees and commissions charged to inmates and inmate friends and family. The case was dismissed three times under the filed-rate doctrine by the District Court before being appealed to the Fifth Circuit, where the dismissal with prejudice was affirmed by a three-Judge panel per curiam. See Alexander et al. v. Global Tel*Link Corporation, 816 Fed.Appx.939 (2020). He also successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice on 12(b)(6) grounds for a major lumber manufacturer in an antitrust and consumer protection class action relating to alleged price-fixing of lumber products. The dismissal with prejudice was affirmed on appeal. See New England Construction v. Weyerhaeuser et al., 2023 WL 2401587 (5th Cir 2023). He also successfully obtained dismissal on 12(b)(6) grounds for a major consumer products manufacturer in an antitrust and consumer protection action brought by the Mississippi Attorney General over alleged price-fixing of wire harness parts used in automotive production. That dismissal was upheld by a unanimous Mississippi Supreme Court. See Fitch v. Yazaki North America, Inc., et al., 294 So. 3d 1178 (2020). Ryan has represented dozens of major companies in antitrust and consumer protection act cases brought by the Mississippi Attorney General over nearly two decades. He also serves a counsel for the Mississippi Governor in Stallworth/JMAA et al. v. Bryant et al. in the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority’s effort to prevent transfer of control of the Jackson Medger Wiley-Evers International Airport to a new statutorily created and regionally-controlled Jackson Metropolitan Area Airport Authority.

He is AV®-Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® in commercial litigation and antitrust law, Benchmark Litigation as a Local Litigation Star, Super Lawyers® Mid-South Super Lawyers and Mid-South Rising Stars. He was previously named in the Top 40 Under 40 by the Mississippi Business Journal and was awarded the Pro Bono Award in 2009 by the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project.

Professional Memberships

Ryan is active in a number of professional and community organizations. He is the former president of the Mississippi Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) (Chair of the Energy and Utilities Committee and a member of the Admissions and Sites Committees), and the Defense Research Institute (DRI) (former Steering Committee of the Commercial Litigation Committee, Chair of the Anti-Trust Sub-Committee, and Young Lawyers Steering Committee). He serves as Chair of the Foundation for Mississippi History, and he has served on the Foundation’s board of directors since 2018. He also serves on the board of trustees at Millsaps College and is a former Chairman of the Mississippi Tort Claims Board.

Personal

He obtained his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Mississippi and his B.S., summa cum laude, in Economics from Millsaps College. He is admitted to practice in Mississippi and Tennessee.