Steve Barham is the president and managing shareholder of Chambliss Bahner & Stophel, PC, a law firm based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Steve has practiced in Chattanooga since 1998 and joined Chambliss in 2004. His litigation practice focuses primarily on healthcare and commercial business matters, and he now splits his time between leading the firm and representing clients. Before becoming firm president in 2025, Steve served as the firm's general counsel, advising on ethics, risk management, and professional responsibility. He serves on the Board of Legal Aid of East Tennessee, was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve as an interviewer for Tennessee Bar applicants, and helped build the Stophel Scholars Program, an endowment supporting exceptional students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT LEADING WITH INTEGRITY AS THE LEGAL PROFESSION CHANGES

Law firm leadership is changing fast, and the pressure is not only coming from technology. New business models, client expectations, and generational shifts are forcing leaders to think carefully about what should change and what should be preserved. Steve Barham's answer is rooted in the values that made the profession worth entering in the first place, including integrity, service, and the lawyer's role as a trusted advisor.

Those values have to show up in the actual work of leading a firm. They shape how leaders work through conflict, how they protect relationships, how they talk to younger lawyers about the future of practice, and how they keep learning instead of assuming they already have the answers. For Steve, leading well means staying open to change without losing sight of the profession's larger obligations to clients, communities, and the rule of law.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Steve Barham of Chambliss Bahner & Stophel about what is worth preserving in the legal profession, how lawyers can remain trusted advisors as technology changes the work, why service matters to the rule of law, and what it means to lead with integrity when the pressure to compromise is real.

2:32 - Steve's path from firm general counsel to managing shareholder

4:31 - Why interpersonal relationships are the backbone of a law firm

7:46 - Consolidation, technology, and changing client expectations for midsize firms

8:11 - Looking for opportunity instead of reacting from fear

10:08 - Staying focused on client service and relationships

11:00 - Why AI will change the work but not the trusted advisor role

13:12 - Teaching younger lawyers that business development is relationship-based

16:21 - Servant leadership and helping lawyers build careers they are proud of

19:01 - The books shaping Steve's thinking on business development and meaning

21:43 - What it means to maintain law as an honorable profession

27:07 - Walking the talk as a law firm leader

29:33 - Finding meaning outside the law through service

MENTIONED IN LEADING WITH INTEGRITY AS THE LEGAL PROFESSION CHANGES

Chambliss Bahner & Stophel, PC. | LinkedIn Steve Barham on LinkedIn

The Activator Advantage

The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur Brooks

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