SCHWANK LAW

Local Counsel for Your Global Ambitions

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About Us

Image of Ryan Schwank looking at camera in glasses and blue oxford.

RYAN SCHWANK
Founder and Principal Attorney

Ryan E. Schwank is a Kentucky native who brings a practical, well-rounded perspective to business counsel. Beyond his public service and legal practice, Ryan has managed small commercial operations and worked with non-profits across national borders which gives him firsthand understanding of the real-world challenges business owners and organizations face daily, particularly in the communities of Western and Central Kentucky.

Before focusing his practice on regional enterprises, Ryan served as Assistant Chief Counsel within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, built and managed the Assessment and Inspection Unit for the Denver Sheriff Department, and represented private clients in solo practice. Ryan has represented clients from more than a dozen countries in civil litigation, immigration, business formation, tax, and investment law. In Denver, he established a comprehensive framework combining performance auditing with ongoing metric tracking to catch operational risks early. He concluded his federal service by testifying before a Congressional panel on failures in agency training and oversight standards.

Ryan holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Business Law from King's College, London and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Combining international legal training with disciplined legal operations, he serves as primary outside counsel for his clients' core business—while retaining and directing specialized co-counsel when niche technical matters arise.

Our Main Services

Fractional General Counsel

Serving as primary outside counsel—providing ongoing executive advice on the ground while managing your company's broader legal footprint without the overhead of an in-house department.

  • On-Site Legal Presence: Visiting physical facilities, job sites, and offices to gain real-world operational context and provide immediate counsel where your business runs.
  • Outside Counsel and Spend Management: Scoping, retaining, and supervising specialized co-counsel for niche technical matters—enforcing strict budget discipline, quality control, and unified strategy.
  • Corporate Governance and Retainer Counsel: Advising ownership and executive teams on day-to-day operational matters, commercial inquiries, and governance under a predictable flat monthly retainer.

Legal Risk Management and Compliance Systems

Applying formal compliance and evaluation frameworks to identify liabilities and protect the business before disputes or enforcement arise.

  • Regulatory and Statutory Compliance Audits: Formally evaluating operational practices, administrative records, and safety protocols against governing state and federal legal standards.
  • Risk Metric and Oversight Frameworks: Designing structured monitoring protocols and compliance tracking metrics to identify systemic operational exposures early.
  • Internal Investigations: Conducting independent, attorney-led reviews regarding potential regulatory breaches, ethics concerns, or operational liabilities.

Commercial Contracts and Business Transactions

Full-spectrum transactional legal services designed to secure commercial rights, manage liability, and execute business agreements efficiently.

  • Contract Drafting, Review and Negotiation: Drafting commercial agreements; including master service agreements, vendor contracts, and distribution deals; focused on risk allocation and execution.
  • Commercial Real Estate and Corporate Instruments: Drafting and reviewing commercial leases, buy-sell agreements, asset purchase documents, and corporate resolutions under Kentucky law.
  • Entity Structuring and Joint Ventures: Forming operating subsidiaries, holding companies, and strategic partnerships backed by custom operating and shareholder agreements.

Regulatory Defense and Government Matters

Legal representation and counsel before state, federal, and local administrative bodies and regulatory agencies.

  • Agency Investigations and Administrative Defense: Representing business clients in formal inquiries, audits, civil enforcement actions, and regulatory disputes.
  • State and Local Incentive Structuring: Guiding expanding companies through state and local economic development programs, tax incentive packages, and municipal financing structures.
  • Employment and Operational Policy Drafting: Drafting workplace policies, employee handbooks, and operational guidelines aligned with state and federal labor laws.

Real Property and Land-Use Litigation

Securing industrial and commercial footprints while litigating complex property, title, and infrastructure disputes that impact operations.

  • Contested and Complex Acquisitions: Managing high-stakes commercial and agricultural land transactions through ownership disputes, competing claims, and pre-closing litigation to deliver marketable property.
  • Easements, Access, and Condemnation: Litigating and negotiating contested rights-of-way, utility corridors, boundary disputes, and eminent domain proceedings.
  • Land-Use and Property Tort Defense: Representing commercial landowners in adjacent-property conflicts, drainage and runoff liability claims, and contested zoning or development actions.

Foreign Direct Investment and Private Client Counsel

Acting as Kentucky counsel for international and out-of-state enterprises while protecting the domestic assets and estates of their principals.

  • U.S. Market Entry and Local Representation: Serving as registered agent and local legal representative for remote owners to manage entity formation, site onboarding, and local counterparty relations.
  • Cross-Border Estate and Situs Structuring: Designing domestic trust, holding-company, and succession structures for foreign nationals and executives to insulate U.S.-held equity and real property from probate traps.
  • Fiduciary and Contested Estate Litigation: Representing non-resident families, stakeholders, and fiduciaries in Kentucky probate and corporate-control litigation to protect and repatriate domestic assets.

Let's Connect

Phone: (270) 883-0012

Email: ryan@schwanklaw.com

LinkedIn: Connect on LinkedIn


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