Community Involvement
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel is committed to community service, and our employees serve in leadership roles in many civic and charitable organizations in Chattanooga and the Southeast. In addition to providing quality legal services, volunteering within the community is a priority. Our lawyers also proudly provide pro bono work for several organizations.
Beyond providing quality legal services and volunteer work in Chattanooga and throughout Tennessee, we strive to make our operations as environmentally-friendly as possible. We have made efforts to reduce the volume of paper we produce through the use of recycled materials and the implementation of duplex copying on nearly all of our machines. Our computers are also energy-efficient, and we have recycling bins available on each floor and in each conference room. We are committed to ensuring that we are as green as possible.
Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
Mike St. Charles, a shareholder focused on business and real estate law, was recently elected Chairman of the Board for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. Mike has been a board member of the Chamber for five years. During that time, he served in various roles, including as Chair of the Membership Committee and a member of the Executive, CAN DO Campaign and Nomination Committees. Mike is active across the community, serving as President of the Chattanooga Bar Foundation and Serra Club of Chattanooga and on boards or committees of Chattanooga Regional Manufacturing Association, Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, American Heart Association, Northside Neighborhood House, Memorial Health Care Systems, and United Way. He has also served in various capacities for Chambliss Center for Children, Signal Centers, and the American Lung Association.
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel UTC Endowment
In 2008, our firm partnered with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's College of Business to establish an endowment fund that supports the Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel Student Recognition Banquet. This event showcases many awards, including the John C. Stophel Distinguished Student Award, which is annually presented to recognize high potential business students who have made significant and meaningful civic contributions, while maintaining a strong academic record.
Chattanooga Business Attorney Steve Jett introduces the John C. Stophel Distinguished Student Awards at the banquet.
Chambliss Center for Children
Our firm is closely aligned with the Chambliss Center for Children, an Early Childhood Education and Care Program. The Chambliss Center portion began in Chattanooga in 1946, when Judge Alexander W. Chambliss, who founded our firm in 1886, saw abused and neglected children coming through his court with no safe place to go. The Judge personally donated money to build the Chambliss Center. Today, we continue to support the Chambliss Center for Children through our volunteer efforts, our board positions and financial contributions. Our firm volunteered to help with maintenance, which included cleaning out their attic and removing wallpaper and partnered with United Way's Day of Caring Program by volunteering with its playground build.
Street Law Diversity Pipeline Program in Chattanooga
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel and the legal department of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee partnered to launch the Street Law Diversity Pipeline Program in Chattanooga. The overall goal of the program is to increase diversity in the legal profession by offering education and mentoring activities. Through this program, our teams of lawyers go into the classroom to talk to and encourage students to pursue legal careers. We also hold a one-day conference to provide student workshops that are designed to be interactive, real-world examples of various careers in the legal arena. For more information, visit www.streetlaw.org.
Pro Bono
Giving back to the community through pro bono legal representation is a cornerstone of Chambliss’ practice. Chambliss and many of its attorneys provide pro bono legal services to elderly, abused, and low-income residents of our region through Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET). The firm received LAET’s first Pro Bono Firm of the Year Award, and recently, Chambliss attorneys Max Bahner, Bruce Bailey and Bill Carriger were three of the eight local attorneys inducted into LAET's inaugural Pro Bono Hall of Fame. LAET previously honored William M. Barker, a senior attorney with the firm and former Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, for his pro bono contributions by naming its Equal Access to Justice Award after him. Finally, LAET's Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award is named after Bruce Bailey, who was instrumental in starting the Chattanooga Bar Association pro bono program.
Civic Organizations
The following is a representative list of organizations we have supported through board positions, financial contributions, and volunteer work:
- Allied Arts
- Alexian Brothers Health Care
Alzheimer's Association – SE TN Chapter
- American Heart Association
- American Lung Association
- Arts & Education Council of Chattanooga
- Association of Retarded Citizens
- Association of Visual Arts
- Ballet Tennessee
- Baylor School
- B'nai Zion Synagogue
- BOTA Foundation
- Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga
- Boy Scouts of America, Cherokee Area Council
- Bright School Finance Committee
- Canadian-American Society of the Southeast
- Catholic Charities of East Tennessee – Chattanooga
- Chambliss Center for Children
- Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority
- Chattanooga Area Food Bank
- Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
- Chattanooga Christian School
- Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy
- Chattanooga Manufacturers Association
- Chattanooga Pachyderm Club
- Chattanooga Planned Giving Council
- Chattanooga Resource Foundation
- Chattanooga Symphony & Opera
- Cleveland-Bradley Chamber of Commerce
- Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Inc.
- David Lipscomb College of Business
- Friends of the Festival
- Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga, Inc.
- Girls Inc. of Chattanooga
- Greater Chattanooga Crimestoppers
- Hope for the Inner City
- Junior League of Chattanooga
- Kiwanis Club
- LifeSpring Community Health
- Lions Club
- Memorial Health Care System Foundation
- Memorial Hospital
- MTSU Foundation
- MTSU National Alumni Board
- Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
- National Center for Youth Issues
- Notre Dame High School Board
- Orange Grove Center
- Partnership for Families, Children and Adults
- Re:Start - The Center for Adult Education
- Reflection Riding
- River City Company
- Ronald McDonald House
- Rotary Club of Chattanooga
- Salvation Army
- Scenic City Civitan Club
- Signal Centers, Inc.
- Signal Mountain Welfare Council
- Siskin Children's Institute
- Siskin Rehabilitation Hospital
- Southern Adventist University
- University of Chattanooga Foundation, Inc.
- UTC College of Business
- United Way of Greater Chattanooga
- United Way Siskin Foundation
- Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, Inc.
- Williamson County-Franklin Chamber of Commerce
- Young Presidents' Organization
- Young Women's Leadership Academy Foundation