T. Maxfield Bahner, a shareholder at the law firm of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C., has been appointed by A.P. Carlton, president of the American Bar Association, to the Goal VIII Task Force.  Goal VIII is one of eleven goals adopted by the ABA's mission statement.  As one of only seven appointees nationwide, Bahner is charged with ensuring that the ABA's activities regarding Goal VIII – advancing the rule of law in the world – are implemented in an appropriate, coordinated and effective manner.

Through the emergence of the central and east Europe democracies since 1990, the ABA's assistance through the Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI) has been instrumental in providing expertise about the rule of law and its institutions to judges and lawyers from the area.  Following this success, the ABA established regional councils for Asia, Africa and Latin America.  These programs have provided a benchmark for international technical assistance programs regarding the rule of law in developing democracies. 

The challenges of these regional councils is to establish effective organizational framework for work in foreign countries at a time when the international community is distracted by other issues and governmental and philanthropic funders are facing resource allocation difficulties. The possibilities for achievement with rule of law work in various regions of the world remain substantial as nations seek to establish democratic institutions to provide stability and opportunity.

Bahner has held a number of ABA leadership positions as a member of the Board of Governors, House of Delegates, and as one of 52 State Delegates.  Bahner is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C., is a Chattanooga-based firm with more than 45 attorneys who serve as counsel for local, regional, and national businesses, financial institutions, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. The firm practices in areas including labor and employment, intellectual property, health care, business planning, taxation, estate preservation and all aspects of litigation.