attorney profile

 

Ryan Scott Nalley was working full time as a private detective when he decided to practice law.  Today he is an attorney at law concentrating in the areas of civil rights, employee rights, criminal defense, and general civil litigation.  Mr. Nalley is dedicated to handling a wide variety employment law related matters including, but not limited to, actions pursuant to Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Fair Housing Act, the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, the American’s with Disabilities Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act, as well as other common law actions and contract disputes. 

In addition to being a skilled litigator, he is also an effective negotiator, and has been successful in mediation as well as in the courtroom.  He has handled at least a dozen wage and hour cases successfully.  Further, while working under his student license at the John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Legal Clinic he played a key role in the trial that lead to the biggest verdict that a client of the clinic has ever been awarded in a racial discrimination case.  He has also successfully litigated a number of cases based on disability discrimination cases, sexual harassment, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination discrimination.

Mr. Nalley grew up in Pensacola, Florida before he moved to Chicago.  In Chicago he began studying philosophy at Loyola University of Chicago, and later as graduate student at DePaul University. As an undergraduate, Mr. Nalley spent a year studying in Rome, Italy, and traveled throughout Europe and Israel. However, before he began studying law, he spent four years working full time as a private detective, during which time he traveled the country investigating fraud, and assisting in criminal defense cases; including one death penalty case.

During his years working as a private investigator he witnessed first hand the injustices that decent people suffer.  As a result of such experiences he was compelled to study law in the hopes of remedying such injustices.  Today, when he takes on a case, he does so because he believes in the cause and the client.

 

Name of University Attended:

  • Loyola University Chicago

  • B.A. in Philosophy

Name of Law School Attended:

  • The John Marshall Law School

  • Juris Doctor

Other Degrees:

  • Certified Fraud Examiner

  • Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security Contractor, and Locksmith Act

     

Admitted to Practice Law in the Following Courts:

  • The Illinois Supreme Court

  • The United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois General Bar

  • The United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar
 

Professional Association Memberships:

  • The Chicago Bar Association

  • The Illinois State Bar Association

  • The American Bar Association

  • The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association