Sep 2022–Present
Current role
Associate Attorney
Dowd Bennett LLP
St. Louis, Missouri
AttorneyCivil LitigationAttorney Advisor
About
Tanner W. Bone concentrates on commercial litigation in state and federal courts. Tanner has experience representing a number of Fortune 500 companies in litigating complex, high-stakes disputes related to employment, contract, corporate governance, False Claims Act, intellectual property, and real estate matters. He has experience assisting clients in nearly all aspects of litigation, including the development of case strategy, pretrial discovery, depositions, dispositive motion practice, expert selection, and mediation.
Tanner serves as a Criminal Justice Act (CJA) attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and maintains a criminal defense practice with experience at both the state and federal level and a focus on white collar defense. He also counsels and represents clients for the purposes of corporate internal investigations, including investigations involving allegations of discriminatory employment practices.
Prior to joining Dowd Bennett, Tanner served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. In law school, Tanner was an Executive Editor for the Washington University Law Review. He also interned with the criminal division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Prior to law school, Tanner worked as an instructional designer for a technology company in New York City, and served as Student Body President at the University of Arkansas.
Roles
Sep 2021–Sep 2022
Former role
Judicial Law Clerk
U.S. District Court
(appointed)Texas Southern District
Law ClerkResearchLegal Assistant
Served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Andrew S. Hanen, researching and drafting opinions, orders, and bench memoranda.
May 2020–Aug 2020
Former role
Summer Associate
Dowd Bennett LLP
St. Louis, Missouri
Civil LitigationResearchLegal Assistant
Jan 2020–May 2020
Former role
Legal Extern
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Criminal Division
(appointed)Missouri Eastern District
ResearchLegal Assistant
Aug 2018–May 2021
Former role
J.D. Candidate
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law
St. Louis, Missouri
Education
Jul 2016–Aug 2018
Former role
Account Coordinator
AppNexus
New York City, New York
Program and Project ManagementBusiness / Corporate ServicesEducation and Training
Associate Instructional Designer
Jan 2017 - Jan 2018
• Project manage the development of micro-webinars and e-learning modules for clients and internal teams,
partnering with internal SME's and third party vendors to curate product trainings.
• Led effort to revamp the RFP response process, collaborating cross-functionally to develop RFP resources
and to stand-up an efficient process to facilitate consistent response practices and increase RFP win-rates.
• Facilitate a global weekly enablement series, focused on providing in-depth and timely product and workflow updates to commercial and services teams.Associate Enablement Consultant
Jul 2016 - Jan 2017
• Acted as a thought leader for the the creation and development of framework to revamp product training, behavioral training, and workflow improvement for commercial teams.
• Partnered with commercial executives and third party vendors to develop commercial behavioral content
and formulate best practices for meeting preparation, objection handling, and probing techniques.
• Partnered with larger Global Business Operations unit with various tasks to empower business units and customers through process efficiency.
May 2015–May 2016
Former role
Student Body President
University of Arkansas
Greater Fayetteville, Arkansas
Education
Elected to represent the over 26,000 students who attend the University of Arkansas
Managed the Associated Student Government, organization with over 280 members
Implemented programming and policies including: Higher Education Honor Roll, Sexual Assault Awareness Day, Boss Hog Outfitters, and the Old Main Oath
Chair of the Program Allocations Board, charged to allocate all student fee money
Served as Chancellor's representative on Fayetteville Town and Gown Committee
May 2015–Aug 2015
Former role
Walmart Center of Excellence (COE) Intern
Nielsen
Bentonville, Arkansas
Data AnalystMarketing Analyst
Conducted market research and analyzed data for Category Management and Shopper Insights, specifically KraftHeinz and Red Bull clients
Utilized consumer and industry data, specifically Answers on Demand, to support a variety of product lines within KraftHeinz
Developed template allowing ability to conduct basic and updatable category diagnostic analysis to provide in-depth analysis.
Successfully designed "one-pager" templates for Walmart Supercenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club to be used for client updates.
Nov 2013–Nov 2014
Former role
Treasurer
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity
Management
Managed funds for Arkansas Alpha Chapter for 2014 calendar year. Worked with the Fraternity accountant to collect dues. Managed over $100,000 which includes the social and rush budget
May 2013–Aug 2013
Former role
Intern
Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration
(appointed)Missouri
Data AnalystInsurance Claims Examiner
Worked in Market Conduct section to review commercial and personal auto insurance policies.
Collected data and surveys to compile evidence for investigations to be conducted.
Representative matters
Experience
August 2025
Represented a global healthcare company in St. Louis County against claims of negligent supervision, negligent hiring, and negligent retention. Judgment on the pleadings was entered in favor of our client on all counts. Represented a regional senior living organization in a lawsuit challenging the denial of a municipal zoning amendment. Successfully obtained a favorable settlement, allowing the client to expand its premier residential facility, by negotiating with city leaders and residents. Assisted in various corporate internal investigations regarding compliance with applicable legal and company policies, in response to employee complaints. Obtained a number of below-guidelines sentences as an appointed criminal defense attorney.
Publications & speeches
How Content Moderation May Expose Social Media Companies to Greater Defamation Liability
98 Wash. U.L. Rev. 937
February 2021