Joseph Blatchford another reason to be discouraged." In 1977 Blatchford founded his private law practice, Summit Communications, in the field of international trade. Blatchford has represented "flower growers in Costa Rica, cement and toy balloon producers in Mexico, leather handbag exporters in Colombia, school ring binder makers in Singapore, and petrochemicals firms in Argentina." Blatchford is also the co-founder of Caribbean/Latin American Action, a business advocacy group. In 1978 Blatchford represented 13 defectors from Reverend Jim Jones' cult who were with Congressman Leo Ryan when he was killed at the airstrip near Jonestown in Guyana. In 1989 Blatchford was the principal lawyer
Thomas Ryan (congressman) Thomas Ryan (congressman) Thomas Ryan (November 25, 1837 – April 5, 1914) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Kansas. Born in Oxford, New York, Ryan moved to Bradford County, Pennsylvania with his parents, attended Dickinson Seminary in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1861. During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army from 1862 to 1864, moved to Topeka, Kansas in 1865 and served as prosecuting attorney of Shawnee County, Kansas from 1865 to 1873. Ryan was Assistant United States Attorney for Kansas from 1873 to 1877, was elected a Republican to