Ryan A. Brown was born in Kansas City and raised in California. His first job in the computer industry began at the age of eleven, building and repairing personal computers for a local store in Santa Barbara, California. In 1993 he began a computer and Internet consulting firm and started the first Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Santa Barbara.

Ryan went on to attend Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he received a BS in Computer Science with departmental and school honors and a BA in Spanish in 2000. Ryan is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Upsilon Pi Epsilon and the ACM, and won awards for undergraduate research and teaching. Continuing at Johns Hopkins, he received a Masters of Science and Engineering in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins in May of 2002.

After completing his Computer Science studies, Ryan went on to earn a Juris Doctorate Magna Cum Laude in December of 2006 from George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia, with concentrations in business, tax and estate planning law.

Since starting Arlington Law Group in 2007, Ryan has worked with a wide array of businesses and individual clients on estate planning, business law and tax planning. Ryan also works with several technology start-up and early stage companies on company governance, private placements of stock and debt, and computer and Internet law.

Ryan has served and continues to serve on the boards of several for-profit and non-profit organizations. Ryan currently serves on the board of the Arlington Virginia Chamber of Commerce, serves on the Advisory Board for the Arlington Corps of the Salvation Army, previously served on the board of the Arlington County Bar Association, and has volunteered for several pro-bono projects in Northern Virginia including Wills for Heroes which provides free wills and estate planning documents to first responders (police, sheriff, fire & paramedics). Ryan regularly gives seminars on estate planning, tax and business law, taught an annual Continuing Legal Education class at George Mason University School of Law for ten years, and occasionally guest lectures at the law school.

Bar Admissions

• Virginia
• District of Columbia

Bar Associations

• Virginia State Bar
• District of Columbia Bar
• American Bar Association
• Arlington County Bar Association, Past Co-Chair of the Trusts & Estates Section
• McLean Estate Planning Council

Awards

• Washingtonian Magazine, Top Financial Advisor, 2023
• Northern Virginia Magazine Top Lawyer, Trusts & Estates, 2023
• Arlington Magazine Top Lawyer, Trusts & Estates, Legal Aid/Pro Bono, Business/Corporate, 2023
• Arlington Magazine Top Lawyer, Trusts & Estates, 2022
• Washingtonian Magazine, Top Financial Advisor, 2022
• Arlington Magazine Top Lawyer, Business/Corporate, Nonprofit, Trusts & Estates, 2021
• Leadership Center for Excellence "40 Under 40" Recipient, 2019
• Northern Virginia Magazine Top Lawyer, Financial Law, 2019
• Arlington Magazine Top Lawyer, Business/Corporate, Nonprofit, Tax, Trusts & Estates, 2019
• SuperLawyers Rising Stars, Virginia and District of Columbia, 2016 - 2020
• Avvo 10.0/10.0 Superb Rating

Articles

• Estate Planning Considerations for LGBTQIA+ Individuals, August 30, 2023
• Important Steps to Connect your Estate Plan to your Financial Plan, January 3, 2023
• What Will Your Loved Ones Need to Know? Preparing a Letter of Instruction, October 30, 2020
• Irrevocable Trusts for Estate and Tax Planning, October 28, 2020
• Taxation of Cryptocurrency and Tokens, 2018
• Initial Coin Offerings: The Wave of the Future or a Regulatory Headache?, 2017
• Tax Planning with Donor Advised Funds, 2017
• S Corporation Tax Election for Limited Liability Companies, 2014
• Virginia Self-Settled Spendthrift Trusts: Virginia's Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT), 2014
• Virginia Revocable Pay-On-Death (POD) Deed, 2013
• Government Contract Opportunities for Women-Owned Small Businesses, 2013
• Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) for Rental Real Estate Properties, 2012
• The Affordable Care Act & Your Small Business, 2012
• The IRS's Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, 2011

Volunteer Leadership Positions

• Member, Advisory Board, Arlington, Virginia Corps of The Salvation Army, October 2024 - Present
• Board Member, Arlington Chamber of Commerce, January 2020 - Present
• Member, Enduring Gifts Committee, Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, July 2024 - Present
• Chair, Advisory Board, Arlington, Virginia Corps of The Salvation Army, January 2015 - September 2024
• Chair, Enduring Gifts Committee, Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, July 2014 - June 2024
• Board Secretary, 1800 Wilson Boulevard Conodminium Association, November 2008 - November 2012
• Board Member, Arlington County Bar Association, January 2012 - June 2012
• Board Treasurer, 1800 Wilson Boulevard Conodminium Association, November 2007 - November 2008
• Board Secretary, Palisade Gardens Condominium Association, November 2002 - June 2004

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

• Please see our Continuing Legal Education course list for a full list of speaking engagements.