Beason, Ryan Andrew

Kenneth Beale is a counsel in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department. He originally joined the firm in 2002. Mr. Beale's practice focuses on the resolution of international disputes, particularly through international arbitration and litigation. Mr. Beale also has experience handling complex criminal and internal corporate investigations. He practices out of WilmerHale's London office.  

Practice

Mr. Beale has represented clients in cross-border disputes, international arbitrations, complex criminal investigations and corporate internal investigations, in areas such as telecommunications, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace and defense. 

Mr. Beale returned to WilmerHale after completing clerkships with The Honorable Carolyn Dineen King of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and The Honorable Peter J. Messitte of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. From 2002-2003, Mr. Beale was an associate with then Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, DC, where he represented clients in criminal investigations and commercial disputes and also had an active pro bono practice.   

Recent Highlights

• Successfully represented an American company in a London-seated arbitration regarding a business venture in Africa. After a week-long trial in London, the Tribunal dismissed the $60 million claim against our client in its entirety.
• Currently representing a European telecommunications company in several arbitrations with an amount in dispute of several billion Euros.
• Successfully represented a foreign agent suspected of bribery under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. After a year-long investigation, an agreement was reached with the investigating agency whereby our client would not be charged.
• Represented numerous companies in internal investigations, including a Fortune 500 telecommunications company and one of Europe's largest banks.

Professional Activities

Since 2006, Mr. Beale has taught as an adjunct professor of law at the Stetson University College of Law and the University of Tulsa School of Law’s Comparative and International Law Center in London, teaching classes in international arbitration and American corporate law. Mr. Beale also has taught international arbitration advocacy to students at the University of Geneva as part of the Foundation for International Advocacy in Arbitration’s advocacy program.

Mr. Beale is a member of the International Bar Association, the Young International Arbitrators Group of the London Court of International Arbitration, and the International Law, Litigation, and Criminal Justice Sections of the American Bar Association. He is also a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland State Bar Associations.

Community Involvement

Mr. Beale has significant experience working with vulnerable and at-risk youth. Among other things, he is a trustee of the United Kingdom’s largest youth homelessness charity (Depaul UK), is the chair of Depaul’s Fundraising and Development Committee, has supervised students in a juvenile court clinic at the Yale Legal Services Organization, has represented at-risk children pro bono, and has served as a mentor with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America.