Ryan Black

yan Black brings a rare combination to his work as a personal injury attorney in Boise, Idaho: a childhood rooted in Idaho’s wildest places, a decade of hard-won courtroom experience, and the kind of genuine warmth that makes people feel heard from the moment they walk in the door. At Hepworth Holzer, he fights for clients who have been hurt and are facing battles they never expected — and he knows exactly what it takes to win those battles at trial.

Ryan grew up in Featherville, a small community nestled in the Sawtooth National Forest, where the outdoors wasn’t a weekend hobby — it was life. That upbringing gave him a deep appreciation for Idaho’s landscapes and communities that he carries to this day. He still spends as much time as he can outside, hunting, fishing, and hiking, usually alongside his son and his dad. Some things don’t change.

After earning his undergraduate degree, Ryan took an unexpected detour that turned out to be exactly the right preparation for a courtroom. He spent two years in Boise’s theatre and comedy scene, competing in the Boise’s Funniest Person competition and finishing third — which, as he’ll tell you, makes him officially the third funniest person in Boise. It’s a detail that says something real about him: he’s quick on his feet, comfortable in front of a crowd, and doesn’t take himself too seriously. Those qualities, it turns out, translate remarkably well to a jury trial.

During Law School in Moscow, he worked with the Nez Perce Tribe — an experience that left a lasting mark. There, Ryan built on a deep respect for client-centered advocacy and a conviction that everyone deserves a fierce advocate, regardless of whether resources are limited. That belief has shaped how he practices law ever since.

After graduating and earning his Idaho law license in 2016, Ryan clerked for a District Judge in Payette, Idaho, where he had a front-row seat to jury trials day after day. It didn’t take long for him to know: he needed to be in that arena himself. He joined the Ada County Public Defender’s Office, where he was immediately handed a calendar of more than 100 active cases. In his first year alone, he tried more than ten cases to verdict — and won most of them. The office recognized his relentless trial appetite with its “trial cockroach” award for the most trials in a single year. The nickname stuck, and Ryan earned it.

Hungry to keep growing, Ryan attended the Maricopa County Trial School in 2019 and the National Criminal Defense College in Rhode Island, where he spent two weeks sharpening his craft alongside some of the finest trial attorneys in the country. After four years at the Public Defender’s Office, he joined a fellow attorney to build a criminal defense and personal injury firm from the ground up — growing it from four people to thirteen. A 2025 graduate of the Idaho Academy of Leadership for Lawyers, Ryan tried more than forty cases to verdict before joining Hepworth Holzer, accumulating the kind of courtroom experience that can only be built one trial at a time.

Joining Hepworth Holzer as a personal injury trial attorney in Boise is, for Ryan, the natural next step in an arc that has always pointed the same direction: toward the people who need someone in their corner most. Clients dealing with serious injuries face the same steep odds and powerful opponents that he has been helping underdogs overcome throughout his career. He relishes the work — the strategy, the preparation, the moment in the courtroom when all of it comes together.

Outside the office, Ryan’s life is full in the best way. He plays basketball with his son, throws frisbee with his dog, and rarely misses a Sunday dinner with his extended family. His parents own and operate Truffles, Etc., a beloved chocolate and ice cream shop in Meridian. Ryan also has a functioning pottery studio in his backyard, tends to more plants than any of his colleagues, plays piano almost every day, and is currently learning to sketch. He sees his ongoing pursuit of creative outlets the same way he sees trial work: as a practice that rewards curiosity, patience, and the willingness to start over when something isn’t working. It keeps him sharp, and ready for anything.

EDUCATION & ACCOLADES

• University of Idaho College of Law — Juris Doctorate, 2016
• Maricopa County Trial School — 2019
• National Criminal Defense College — 2019
• Idaho Academy of Leadership for Lawyers — Graduate, 2025
• Super Lawyers Rising Stars — 2024, 2025
• Ada County Public Defender’s Office “Trial Cockroach” Award — most trials in a year