About John
John Fee graduated from Brigham Young University in 1992 with a B.A. in American Studies, then earned his J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School in 1995. The path from a liberal arts undergraduate degree to one of the country’s most rigorous law schools was swift. His academic record placed him on a trajectory that led directly into federal appellate and Supreme Court chambers.
After law school, Fee served as a clerk to Judge Frank H. Easterbrook on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1995. The following year he clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia at the United States Supreme Court. Those two consecutive clerkships provided an intensive apprenticeship in appellate reasoning and judicial decision-making, and they helped shape his early career choices.
In 1997 Fee spent time in private practice at Sidley & Austin. That stint in a large national firm came after his clerkships and gave him exposure to the procedural and practical side of litigation work outside the judiciary. He then moved into academia. In 2006 he joined the faculty of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University as a professor of law. Over the years his position at BYU has been the central platform for his professional activity.
His work in the classroom and in scholarly settings reflects the curriculum and intellectual traditions of the institutions that trained him. Colleagues and students have noted his command of appellate procedure and statutory interpretation, subjects that align with his early judicial experiences. He has taught and supervised courses that ask students to engage closely with judicial opinions and to practice drafting the kinds of briefs that are submitted in higher courts.
Fee’s career mixes courtroom preparation, a brief period in private practice, and a long tenure in legal education. He has moved between roles that require advocacy, analytical precision and clear exposition. That combination suits law students who are preparing for clerkships, appellate practice, or careers that demand rigorous legal writing.
As of 2026 he continues to teach at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, where his practice centers on legal scholarship and instruction aimed at preparing students for appellate and federal court work.
