Judge Ryan Nelson was confirmed to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in October, 2018. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Nelson served as general counsel of Melaleuca, Inc. He previously served as special counsel to the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as a law clerk to the Senate Legal Counsel, as deputy general counsel to the White House Office of Management and Budget, and as deputy assistant attorney general in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Earlier in his career, Judge Nelson was an associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Sidley Austin.

Judge Nelson received his B.A. from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from BYU Law School, graduating with honors and inducted into the Order of the Coif. He clerked for Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and for Judges Charles N. Brower and Richard M. Mosk of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal at The Hague.