BusinessTN

John Ryder, a partner in the Memphis law firm of Harris, Shelton, Hanover and Walsh, has made a name for himself as one of the region's best bankruptcy attorneys representing both creditors and debtors. This past April, Ryder was named receiver in a highly contentious lawsuit between Performa Entertainment Real Estate Inc. and the City of Memphis over the Beale Street Historic District, a feud that has been going on for 10 years and finally boiled over in court.

Among Ryder's other high profile cases are the 1993 Chapter 11 bankruptcy of retailer Wexler & Jacobson, the 1990 bankruptcy of cotton merchants The Julien Companies (one of the largest failures in the cotton industry), and representation of the Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority against Braniff Airways in 1986.

"I enjoy the challenge of Chapter 11 bankruptcy because it requires a certain amount of creativity to find value in the midst of financial distress," Ryder says.

But Ryder's involvement in both Tennessee and national Republican politics has brought him more attention than his law career. In February of 2008, the Tennessee Republican Party made Ryder, who began his political work as a 14-year-old stuffing envelopes for Barry Goldwater, a member of the Republican National Committee. While that move may seem insignificant to some, the person they chose to unseat to give him the job was former U.S. Congressman Van Hilleary.

The powers that be in Washington, D.C., have taken notice of Ryder's skills, as well. In May, the chairman of the national Republican Party, Michael Steele, appointed Ryder to serve as chair of the national GOP redistricting committee -- arguably one of the most important posts a political operative can have. In making the appointment, Steele described Ryder as "a tireless advocate of Republican principles both in the state of Tennessee and across the country."

The stakes on Ryder's appointment are high. Tennessee, which has nine members of Congress --five Democrats and four Republicans --, could be redrawn with a new majority. Though new census numbers and population shifts recorded in 2010 may yield the same number of congressman, redistricting can give the GOP a majority again. Spread tactics like that out nationally in states where the GOP has gained control of the state legislature in the past 10 years, and Republicans can gain substantial ground towards recapturing the U.S. Congress.

In Tennessee, changes are likely to occur as a result of growth in suburban counties surrounding Nashville, growth north of Memphis in places like Tipton and Fayette counties, and rural population decreases across Middle and West Tennessee. As in the past, Ryder will be at the center of any redistricting efforts. He's been at the center of such efforts by state Republicans following the last two census revisions. It's that very experience that has made him an expert on a very narrowly practiced legal field and the reason he was tapped by Steele to provide input to the national party, state legislators and others in redrawing the nation's voting districts.

It's a controversial process, to be sure. Millions of dollars will be raised and spent by both parties as they go about the task of redrawing districts in an effort to create comfortable congressional districts where partisans stand little chance of upset. And though many people -- including a rising percentage in the business world -- have grown tired of the unfruitful partisanship in state capitols and Washington, D.C., alike, efforts to legislatively end what many consider political gerrymandering of districts via national standards has historically fallen on deaf ears. With so much power and potential for party gain tied up in the current process, one should not expect proposed new national standards on redistricting using bipartisan committees to gain traction. Nor should anyone expect Ryder's skills and importance to the process to be neutralized anytime soon.