Our People
T. Maxfield Bahner
Shareholder
Max Bahner is a Senior Member of the firm's litigation section, and his practice concentration is primarily in complex litigation. He is an AAA arbitrator and also a Rule 31 certified mediator. He is currently an active member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Defense Research Institute.
Mr. Bahner is admitted to practice in Tennessee and also before the United States Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, and 11th Circuits, and the Federal Circuit. He is past president of the Chattanooga and Tennessee Bar Associations and served nearly 17 years in the American Bar Association House of Delegates, leading the Tennessee delegation for nine years. Mr. Bahner also served on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association for three years and on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors during his last year on the Board. He was Chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court's Advisory Commission on the Rules of Civil Procedure for seven years during which the Commission wrote the Tennessee Rules of Evidence, which were adopted by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Mr. Bahner is a founding Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and the Chattanooga Bar Foundation.
Mr. Bahner’s mediation experience includes achieving agreement between bitterly divided parties resulting in reasonable settlements of multi-million dollar disputes. His experience in arbitration includes health care-related matters involving hospitals as well as disputes between insurers and physician groups. His experience also includes successful defense of a large case involving trade regulation, successful defense of significant indemnity claim by insured and other commercial lawsuits.
Representative Matters
- Mediation experience includes achieving agreement between bitterly divided parties resulting in settlements of multi-million dollar disputes
- Experience in arbitration includes health care-related matters involving hospitals as well as disputes between insurors and physician groups
- Successful defense of large case involving trade regulation; successful defense of significant indemnity claim by insured and other commercial lawsuits.
Tennessee Supreme Court, Rule 31 Mediator
Memberships
- American Bar Association, Senior Lawyers Division, Chair; past member Board of Governors; past member, Member House of Delegates; past State Delegate; past member of Executive Committee
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow and life member
- American College of Trial Lawyers
- American Judicature Society
- Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- BOTA Foundation, Board of Trustees and Secretary, 1985-present, Vice Chairman, 2007
- Carson-Newman College, Trustee, past Chairman, Board of Trustees
- Chattanooga Bar Association, past President, past member Board of Governors
- Chattanooga Bar Foundation, Founding Fellow
- Chattanooga Rotary Club, past President
- Chattanooga Symphony, past board member
- Chattanooga United Way, Board of Directors, 1990, former Chairman, Fund Drive Professional Division
- Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Inc., Board Member
- Conference of Southern Bar Presidents, past Chair
- Defense Research Institute
- Estate Planning Council, past Board of Directors
- Federal Bar Association
- IADC Defense Counsel Journal, former member of Board of Editors
- Inns of the Court, Cooper-Brock Association, Master
- Judicial Conference, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Cir., life member
- Merit Selection Panel for Bankruptcy Judges, Eastern District, Tennessee, Kingsport, and Chattanooga
- Merit Selection Panel for United States Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of Tennessee, Chattanooga Division
- Orange Grove Center – Board Member, Honorary Board Member 30 years, President 1974-75, 40 Years of Service Award
- Tennessee Bar Association, past President, past member Board of Governors
- Tennessee Bar Association Task Force on Judicial Conduct Rules, Chair
- Tennessee Bar Foundation, Founding Fellow and life member
- Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association
- Tennessee Supreme Court Advisory Commission on Drafting Tennessee Rules of Evidence, 1983-1989, Chair
- Tennessee Supreme Court Advisory Commission on Civil Rules, 1982-1989, Chair
- Tennessee Supreme Court Board of Professional Responsibility, 1982-1985
- Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society, organizer, President 1997, member and board member
- University of Chattanooga Foundation, Inc., Board Member
- U.S. District Court Historical Society for Eastern Division of Tennessee, V.P., 1983 to present, Member
- Virginia State Bar
Honors
- Fellow, American Board of Trial Advocates
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- President's Award for Distinguished Service to the Legal Community, Chattanooga Bar Association
- Ralph H. Kelley Humanitarian Award
- Recipient, Distinguished Alumnus Award, Carson Newman College, 1984
- Recipient, Equal Justice Partner Lifetime Achievement Award, Legal Aid of East Tennessee
- Service Award, Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee
- Appointed Chairman of the American Bar Association, Senior Lawyers Division, 2009
- Recipient, the Harry Weill Zealous Practice of Law Award, Chattanooga Bar Association
- Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association, Task Force to Revise the Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct, 2009 –
- President's Award in Recognition for Invaluable Contribution as Chair of the Task Force on Judicial Conduct Rules, Tennessee Bar Association, 2010
Listed in:
- The Best Lawyers in America (Bet-the-Company Litigation and Commercial Litigation)
- Business TN's "Top 150 Lawyers in Tennessee"
- Mid-South Super Lawyers, 100 Super Lawyers in Tennessee, Business Litigation
- Who's Who in American Law
- Who's Who in the South and Southwest
- Who's Who in the U.S.
- Who's Who in the World
Publications
- Senior Contributing Member, Evidence in America, the Federal Rules in the United States, Michie, 1987
- Author, "Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege by Issue Injection: A Call for Uniformity," Defense Counsel Journal, vol. 65, no. 1, April 98, pp. 199-207
