Patrick Ryan, the chairman and managing partner of the law firm Quarles & Brady LLP, died Wednesday at the age of 63 after a brief illness, the firm has announced.

Ryan joined Quarles & Brady in Milwaukee in 1970 after graduating from Marquette University Law School, where he served as editor-in chief of the Law Review. His practice at Quarles included extensive experience in private equity, capital markets transactions, acquisitions and commercial lending, particularly in the paper industry.

He was elected as the firm's managing partner in 2002 and had been involved with the management side of Quarles & Brady since 1985.

In a tribute on its Web site, the firm credits Ryan with helping to build a distinguished practice by providing knowledgeable legal counsel and a high level of personal service to a variety of corporate clients.

Under his leadership as chairman and managing partner, the firm has grown to its current size of approximately 440 attorneys and 520 support staff in six offices in Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona and Florida. It was ranked by the National Law Journal as the 95th largest law firm in the nation in 2006.

Ryan is survived by his wife, Holly, and their four children and son-in-law: Brendan, Lucas, Abigail, Rebeccah and her husband Keith Martin. In addition, he had great pride in his five grandchildren: Joseph and Henry Martin, Daijah and Calia Stanley, and Beyonce Williams.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Marquette University Law School-Patrick M. Ryan Scholarship Fund designed to assist minority law students at Marquette University.