Tolman's most noteworthy work in the Senate is his role in the passage of the 2005 Patriot Act reauthorization.

In 2003, he began work on the staff of U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

[9][10] A struggle over who would succeed him in office ensued, the two candidates being Tolman and Kyle Sampson, then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's chief of staff at the Department of Justice.

[11] Senator Hatch made a personal appeal to Attorney General Gonzales to drop his nomination of Kyle Sampson.

[1] In December 2009, Tolman resigned and joined the Salt Lake City law firm Ray Quinney & Nebeker.

[12][13][14][15][16][17] On January 17, 2021, the New York Times published an article reporting that Tolman has "collect[ed] tens of thousands of dollars, and possibly more, in recent weeks to lobby the White House for clemency for the son of a former Arkansas senator; the founder of the notorious online drug marketplace Silk Road; and a Manhattan socialite who pleaded guilty in a fraud scheme".