Skip to content

Tanner J. Bean

Attorney / Partner
Salt Lake City
Licensure: ID, UT

Biography

pdf version

Tanner Bean is an attorney at Fabian VanCott focusing on employment, appellate, and litigation matters. He represents large and small employers alike, regularly advising on employment policies, handbooks, non-competes, severance agreements, and more. Tanner also represents employers in various employment litigation matters, including discrimination, wage and hour, and independent contractor litigation. Tanner has particular experience in the intersecting areas of religious freedom and LGBTQ discrimination found in and out of the workplace. Drawing from his background as a clerk for a judge on the Idaho Court of Appeals, Tanner also artfully drafts appellate briefs and argues novel issues of law across various practice areas before appellate courts in Utah, the Tenth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tanner graduated with honors from Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, where he served as President of the Trial Advocacy Team, Symposium Editor of the BYU Law Review, and Research Fellow and Student Management Board Member of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies. Tanner also received his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in English. Tanner joined Fabian VanCott after completing a clerkship at the Idaho Court of Appeals for the Honorable Molly J. Huskey.

Currently, Tanner serves as Chair of Fabian VanCott’s Employment & Labor Practice Group. He also serves as Chair for the Labor & Employment Section of the Utah Bar, and is a member of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society’s Religious Freedom Committee. Tanner frequently writes and presents on topics such as employment law, religious freedom, and LGBTQ nondiscrimination. Apart from his law practice, Tanner balances his affinity for the outdoors with his love of ice cream.

Tanner is licensed to practice in Utah and Idaho.

Professional History

Judicial Law Clerk, Idaho Court of Appeals, The Honorable Judge Molly J. Huskey, July 2017 – Apr 2019

Law Fellow, Fairness for All Initiative & Tolerance Means Dialogues, Nov 2017 – Mar 2019

Law Clerk, Utah Attorney General’s Office, Litigation Division, Oct 2015 – May 2017

Research Fellow & Student Management Board Member, The International Center for Law and Religion Studies, May 2015 – Apr 2017

Law Clerk, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, Criminal Appeals, May 2016 – June 2016

Legal Intern, Brazil Area Legal Counsel, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, May 2015 – Jun 2015

Legal Intern, Dexter & Dexter Attorneys at Law, Aug 2013 – Apr 2014

Education

J.D., J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, 2017

Distinguished Service & Meritorious Achievement Award, 2017

Quarter-finalist, Touro Law Center National Moot Court Competition, 2017

Semi-finalist, American College of Trial Lawyers Regional Trial Competition, 2017

J. Reuben Clark Award Recipient for integrity, service, and academic excellence, 2016

Finalist, American College of Trial Lawyers Regional Competition, 2016

Quarter-finalist, Linda Anderson Trial Advocacy Competition, 2016

Quarter-finalist, Woody Deem Trial Advocacy Competition, 2015

B.A., English, Brigham Young University, 2014

A.A., Snow College, 2010

Community Service

Chair, Labor & Employment Section, Utah State Bar, Sept 2020 – Present

Chair & Committee Member, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Religious Liberty Fellowship Planning Committee, Nov 2019 – Present

Founder, Idaho Interfaith & LGBT Summit on Religious Liberty and Nondiscrimination, Feb 2019, Jan 2020, Mar 2021

Committee Member, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Religious Freedom Committee, Nov 2019 – Present

Secretary, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Young Lawyers/Student Chapter Committee, Apr 2018 – April 2020

Board Member, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Boise, Idaho Chapter, Jan 2018 – Apr 2019

Fellow, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, July 2018

Publications & Presentations

Presentation, Legislating Religious Liberty, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Religious Liberty Fellowship (May 2024)

Publication, E-Update: U.S. Supreme Court Changes Standard for Discrimination Cases, Fabian VanCott (April 2024)

Presentation, Personnel Issues: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Discrimination; and Employee Accommodations, Utah Association of Special Districts Annual Conference (Feb. 2024)

Presentation, The Future of Religion, Leo500: The Future of Everything, The Leonardo (Feb. 2024)

Publication, The Respect for Marriage Act Helped De-escalate the Culture Wars, Baptist News Global (June 2023)

Publication, Co-author, E-Update: FLSA Salary Test; the FTC & Non-Competes; and Non-Disparagement, Confidentiality & the NLRB, Fabian VanCott (Mar. 2023)

Presentation, Moderator, The JRCLS Religious Liberty Fellowship: The Next Generation of Religious Liberty Advocates, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Annual Conference (Feb. 2023)

Presentation, Co-Presenter, Utah Interfaith at Work Law Panel, Utah InterFaith @ Work Conference (Nov. 2022)

Presentation, Co-Presenter, Religious Liberty Careers, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Religious Liberty Fellowship (Oct. 2022)

Presentation, Co-Presenter, Judicial Perspectives, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Religious Liberty Fellowship (Oct. 2022)

Publication, Perspective: The Prospects for Religious Liberty in Biden’s Supreme Court Pick, Deseret News (Feb. 2022)

Presentation, Moving Targets: Employment in the Age of the Pandemic, Utah Association of Special Districts Annual Convention (Nov 2021)

Presentation, Co-Presenter, Pandemic Workplace Policies, Fabian VanCott Breakfast Briefing (Oct 2021)

Presentation, Co-Presenter, Workshopping Religious Liberty Hypotheticals, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Religious Liberty Fellowship (Oct 2021)

Presentation, FORBcast, Season 1, Episode 10, Interview with Tanner Bean – Lawyer and Advocate, Bellwether International (July 2021)

Presentation, Moderator, Pursuing and Defending a Discrimination Claim through UALD, Utah State Bar 2021 Summer Convention (July 2021)

Publication, A Path to Unity, Mr. President: The Fairness for All Act, Public Square Magazine (Feb 2021)

Publication, Continued Restoration of Religious Freedom: Tanzin v. Tanvir and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Public Square Magazine (Jan 2021)

Presentation, Co-presenter, Religious Freedom and the 2020 Presidential Election, BYU Freedom of Religion or Belief Club (Oct 2020)

Publication, Co-author, The Administrative State as a New Front in the Culture War: Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, CATO Supreme Court Review (Sept 2020)

Publication, Co-author, Religious Freedom Scholars Say Little Sisters Case Creates New Front in Divisive Culture War, The Sutherland Institute (Sept 2020)

Publication, Co-author, Common Sense Case for Common Lawmaking: Three Cheers for Why Conservative Religious Organizations and Believers Should Support the Fairness for All Act, Notre Dame Journal of Legislation (July 2020)

Publication, Co-author, Obergefell, Our Common Humanity, and Putting Children First, Talk About: Law and Religion, International Center for Law and Religion Studies (July 2020)

Presentation, The Supreme Court Speaks: A Discussion about Bostock v. Clayton County, the Utah Compromise, and How Employers Can Foster LGBTQ & Religious Inclusion While Maintaining Business Objectives, Labor & Employment Section, Utah State Bar (July 2020)

Publication, Co-author, E-Update: U.S. Supreme Court Rules Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination Are Prohibited, Fabian VanCott (June 2020)

Publication, ‘Utah Compromise’ One Step Ahead of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Ruling, The Enterprise, Utah’s Business Journal (June 2020)

Publication, Co-author, Fairness for All: An Answer to the Special Rapporteur’s Call for a Practical Resolution between Freedom of Religion or Belief and LGBT+ Non-discrimination, Talk About: Law and Religion, International Center for Law and Religion Studies (Apr 2020)

Publication, Co-author, Performance During a Pandemic: Are Contracts Enforceable?, The Enterprise, Utah’s Business Journal (Apr 2020)

Publication, Co-author, E-Update: Performance During a Pandemic: Are Contracts Enforceable?, Fabian VanCott (Apr 2020)

Publication, Co-author, Defiant Congregations in a Pandemic: Public Safety Precedes Religious Rights, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religions (Mar 2020)

Publication, Co-author, E-Update: Unique and Rapidly Evolving Conditions for Employers During COVID-19, Fabian VanCott (Mar 2020)

Presentation, Co-presenter, Balancing Religious Freedom and LGBT Rights at the Municipal Level, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Annual Conference (Feb 2020)

Presentation, Moderator, Community Voices in the Marketplace, Interfaith & LGBT Summit on Religious Liberty and Public Accommodations (Jan 2020)

Publication, Fairness for All Act Seeks to Balance LGBTQ, Religious Rights, IDAHO STATESMAN (Dec 2019)

Presentation, Co-presenter, The ADA: A Step-by-Step Approach to Disability Accommodation Requests, Fabian VanCott Breakfast Briefing (Nov 2019)

Presentation, The ADA: A Step-by-Step Approach to Disability Accommodation Requests, Utah Association of Special Districts Annual Convention (Nov 2019)

Publication, “To the Person:” RFRA’s Blueprint for a Sustainable Exemption Regime, 2019 BYU L. REV. 1 (Sept 2019)

Presentation, Moderator, Voices of a New Generation: Religious Freedom and LGBTQ Rights,” BYU Religious Freedom Annual Review (June 2019)

Publication, An Unparalleled Gathering: A Review of the Idaho “Interfaith & LGBT Summit on Religious Liberty and Nondiscrimination Solutions,” THE ADVOCATE (June 2019)

Publication, Co-author, Academic Freedom’s Reach into Institutional Religious Liberty: The AAUP’s Treatment of Religious Universities, 15 UNIV. ST. THOMAS L. J. 442 (May 2019)

Presentation, NLRB Updates, Fabian VanCott Employment Law Seminar (May 2019)

Presentation, Moderator, Circling Around Common Ground: A Book Discussion of Religious Freedom, LGBT Rights, and the Prospects for Common Ground, Interfaith & LGBT Summit on Religious Liberty and Nondiscrimination (Feb 2019)

Presentation, Co-presenter, Religious Freedom in the Workplace, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Annual Conference (Feb 2019)

Presentation, Religious Liberty, LGBT Rights, & Idaho Public Accommodations, Idaho Bar, Young Lawyers Section (Jan 2019)

Presentation, Religious Liberty & LGBT Rights, Richard C. Fields American Inn of Court (Sept 2018)

Publication, Co-author, Why Jack Phillips Still Cannot Make Wedding Cakes: Deciding Competing Claims Under Old Laws, BERKLEY FORUM, BERKLEY CENTER FOR RELIGION, PEACE & WORLD AFFAIRS (June 29, 2018)

Publication, Senegal, in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LAW AND RELIGION (Gerhard Robbers ed., Brill Online 2015)

Publication, Tajikistan, in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LAW AND RELIGION (Gerhard Robbers ed., Brill Online 2015)

Recognition and Awards

Legal Elite, Labor & Employment Law, Utah Business Magazine, 2024