Ryan Downer

he/him

Civil Rights Attorney

Ryan brings to the Peoples’ Counsel Advisory Board nearly two decades of experience litigating civil rights cases, primarily focusing on criminal legal system reform and economic justice. He currently serves as Legal Director of the Washington Lawyer’s Committee. Prior to WLC, he served as director of litigation at Civil Rights Corps, where he oversaw cases challenging the criminalization of poverty, particularly in the areas of prosecutor misconduct and wealth-based pretrial detention. Ryan’s direct casework at CRC included a challenge to the New Orleans’ district attorney’s use of fake subpoenas; a lawsuit targeting Maricopa County’s blatant wealth discrimination in its marijuana diversion program; and CRC’s efforts to protect detainees in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ryan previously served as counsel at Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC in Washington, D.C. and as associate counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc. (LDF) in New York. At Relman and LDF, Ryan litigated in the areas of fair housing, employment, environmental justice, and public accommodations at the district court and appellate level, including two of the first cases to challenge blanket criminal records bans imposed by private housing providers.