Alumni Spotlight: Ryan Redd ’15L Ryan Redd is an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Lubbock Division of the Northern District of Texas.

Ryan Redd ’15L

Ryan Redd ‘15L is from Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2012, where he double-majored in Political Science and Music (Alto-Saxophone).  While at W&L Law, Ryan was the Student Bar Association President, a clinical student in the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse (VC3), and a member of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) Mock Trial Team. After graduating, he served on active duty in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for five years. Ryan left active duty in 2020 to accept a position as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Lubbock Division of the Northern District of Texas. In addition to his role as a federal prosecutor, Ryan is a Major in the Army Reserve JAG Corps.  He enjoys spending time with his wife, Jasmine Redd ‘15L, and their three-year-old daughter.

Discuss your career path since graduation and your decision to become an AUSA.

After graduating, I served in the U.S. Army JAG Corps in various roles. At Fort Sill, Oklahoma, I worked as a Legal Assistance Attorney, a Trial Counsel (Army prosecutor), and as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA). At Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), Texas, I worked on administrative law matters and finished my active duty tenure as Chief of the Client Services Office. Although most of my internship and clinical experiences in law school involved criminal defense, I thoroughly enjoyed my time as an Army prosecutor and a SAUSA. When a former JAG Corps colleague reached out about an opening in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, I knew the opportunity to represent the United States in federal court was too good to pass up. I am very grateful and honored that I was selected to serve as an AUSA.

What sort of legal issues do you handle on a day-to-day basis?

I prosecute a variety of offenses, but my primary focus is on narcotics, firearms, and violent crime. I have also handled child exploitation, immigration, and fraud cases. My days are spent primarily reviewing discovery, drafting indictments and prosecution memos, negotiating guilty pleas, preparing for hearings/trial, and appearing in court. I am currently the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) coordinator in Lubbock. PSN is a Department of Justice (DOJ) violent crime reduction initiative that uses strategic and focused enforcement, prevention and intervention, community engagement, and accountability to combat violence in impacted communities.

What do you like about your current job?

I really enjoy collaborating with our law enforcement partners and being a part of the investigative process before indictment. I also love working on a team of amazing and dedicated prosecutors and support staff. The issues that I face in my job as an AUSA are challenging and weighty, but there are so many knowledgeable people and helpful resources within my office and the DOJ as a whole. Overall, it is very fulfilling to spend every day working to promote safer communities through the pursuit of justice.

Which W&L classes and/or experiences do you think were most helpful in preparing you for this job? 

Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, and Constitutional Law were the classes that gave me the best foundation for my role as a federal prosecutor. The experience that most prepared me for trial practice was being a member of the W&L BLSA Mock Trial team, which was coached and led by Professor Elizabeth Belmont (also affectionately known as “BB”). Under Professor Belmont’s leadership, we won the Mid-Atlantic Regional competition in 2014, and the National competition in 2015.  My BLSA Mock Trial experiences were the most valuable in terms of developing litigation skills.

What advice do you have for prospective law students?

Work hard, be humble, and ask for help. Do your best wherever you are and on whatever tasks you are assigned. It’s easy to become distracted by the next thing, but the best advice is something I heard frequently in the JAG Corps: “Saw the wood in front of you.”

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