Founding Partner Ryan W. Tatum

Ryan Tatum grew up on the Tatum family farm and ranch in central Oregon, where he learned the importance of hard work.  He moved to the Treasure Valley to attend Northwest Nazarene University and also attended Boise State University.  He worked for the Payette County Sheriff’s Office from 2005 until he left in 2013 to finish his undergrad and attend law school.  While at Payette County, Mr. Tatum worked as a Detention (jail) Deputy and then as a Patrol Deputy.  Mr. Tatum was a Field Training Officer, Breath Testing Specialist, DUI Detection and Legal Update Trainer, and was certified in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (A-RIDE).  Mr. Tatum took calls for service of all types and specialized in DUI detection and testing.  Many DUI impairments were due to alcohol, but Mr. Tatum also placed an emphasis on accurate determination of whether a driver was under the influence due to prescription drug(s) or illicit drug(s).  Mr. Tatum was a resource to other officers dealing with suspected DUI-D (drugs) stops and administration of sobriety tests during Spanish language stops.  Mr. Tatum led all in-county officers in both total arrests and DUI arrests in 2010, 2011, and 2012, yet he also strived to treat all individuals fairly, preserving not only incriminating evidence but also all evidence favorable to a defendant (exculpatory evidence).  Mr. Tatum believed that his job as a law enforcement officer was to protect people, treat everyone fairly, and always tell the full truth about what had happened.  In addition to local and administrative testimony, Mr. Tatum testified several times in federal district court on motions to suppress and at trials in cases resulting in sentences of greater than 30 years.

Mr. Tatum completed a Bachelor of Science in Public Safety from Capella University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in September of 2014. In August of 2014, Mr. Tatum began law school. During the summer following his 1L year, Mr. Tatum interned at a local law office that practiced criminal defense and family law. Mr. Tatum was selected for a Summer Associate position with the same law office following his 2L year. In his 3L year, Mr. Tatum participated in the Criminal Law Clinic as a Prosecuting Extern through the Boise City Attorney’s Office, where he worked a partial deputy prosecutor’s caseload for academic credit. Like many law students, Mr. Tatum balanced studying and experiential classes with other obligations. These included staying involved in the lives of his four children, a part-time job, being a two-term President of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Student Chapter, serving as President of the Student Bar Association, and serving in church leadership positions. Mr. Tatum graduated in the top third of his class and was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 2017.

In the fall of 2017, the Tatum family moved to Helena, MT. While in Helena, Mr. Tatum worked for the Department of Health and Human Services as a skilled and unskilled nursing home facility surveyor, auditing facilities and medical providers’ compliance with federal Medicare and Medicaid regulations as well as state regulations. When the opportunity arose to move back to the Boise area in 2018, the Tatum family did so, and Mr. Tatum accepted a position with another local law office where he practiced criminal defense and law enforcement officer representation until leaving to co-found Tatum McBride Law.

Mr. Tatum is a member of the Idaho Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association. Prior to the closure of Concordia University-Portland, which causing the closure of Concordia Law in Boise, he also served as a mentor for law students at Concordia Law, where he was also active with leadership of the alumni association.

Mr. Tatum is a devoted father to his four children. They enjoy playing basketball and tennis, rafting, camping, floating the river, and attending the children’s numerous athletic events and musical or theatrical performances.