Ryan Short

Ryan says people are what make him happy. He values his relationships above all and is a zealous – but level-headed – advocate for his clients. As a child of divorce, he has a greater understanding of what his clients go through, but he also has firsthand experience of the open communication, patience, and understanding that can come out of it all. As he puts it, “A new type of relationship can form from a seemingly broken past.”

Ryan received his undergraduate degree in Economics and Political Science from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he was part of the International Economics Honor Society (Omicron Delta Epsilon) and the Mock Trial Team. He then went on to graduate cum laude from North Carolina Central University School of Law, where he was part of the Phi Delta Phi Honor Society and worked on the law journal. He’s a member of the Durham County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and the Wake County Bar Association.

All impressive academic accomplishments aside, Ryan has a great sense of humor. He loves dancing to jam bands, especially from the 80s like music from the movie, “The Breakfast Club.” But he points out that he doesn’t care for the “tie-dye don’t-like-to-take-showers” kind of jam band.

Ryan also loves salsa – not the dance, but the sauce (as long as it isn’t too-too spicy.) In fact, he’ll eat almost anything with salsa. In between bites of salsa and chips, you might hear him making up his own hybrid language mixing Spanish, Latin, French, German, and North Carolinian, but it’s German he studied for three years in college. He hopes to travel to Germany one day soon and try out his Deutsche. In the meantime, he says he is a fluent speaker of American Southern.

While Ryan loves practicing family law, he harbors fantasies of becoming a Formula One race car driver. His clients probably don’t have to worry about that happening any time soon, but shhh… don’t burst Ryan’s bubble.