Steven "Steve" Oberman

Steven "Steve" Oberman


Oberman & Rice

Recognized since 2007

Knoxville, Tennessee

Practice Areas

Criminal Defense: General Practice

DUI / DWI Defense

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2024 - DUI / DWI Defense
Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2024 - DUI / DWI Defense Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2022 - DUI / DWI Defense Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2020 - Criminal Defense: General Practice Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2018 - Criminal Defense: General Practice Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2013 - Criminal Defense: General Practice
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Steve is the managing partner of The Oberman & Rice Law Firm, practicing general criminal defense and DUI defense law primarily in the East Tennessee region of the state. Since 1980, Steve has successfully represented thousands of clients charged with DUI and Vehicular Homicide in addition to representing those accused of other serious crimes such as bank fraud, attempted murder, various drug crimes, embezzlement, and other white-collar offenses.

Steve has been designated as a Fulbright Scholar on two separate occasions. In 2019, Steve was honored by teaching for a semester as a visiting professor at The University of Latvia in Riga, Latvia and in 2024 he is scheduled to teach as a visiting professor at The University of Ljubljana in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Additionally, in 2023 he was invited to teach at the prestigious law school of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), in Budapest, Hungary--rated in the top 2% of universities worldwide. On each of his foreign teaching assignments, Steve taught two classes: American Criminal Law and American Trial Advocacy. During his tenure in Central and Eastern Europe, Steve also lectured at Mykolas Romeris University, one of Lithuania's largest universities, the University of Pécs in Hungary, and the Czech Republic Police Academy in Prague.

Back in the U.S., Steve has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee Law School since 1993 teaching Trial Advocacy (how to try cases) and has received a number of prestigious awards for his faculty contributions. Mr. Oberman is a popular speaker at seminars throughout the world on topics of trial techniques and DUI defenses. He has lectured to other lawyers, judges, and law enforcement officers on hundreds of occasions in 30 states and seven foreign countries.

Mr. Oberman is the author of DUI: The Crimes & Consequences in Tennessee (Thomson-West Publishing, updated annually since first published in 1991); and since 2003, is the co-author of Drunk Driving Defense, (Wolters-Kluwer/Aspen Publishing) with Lawrence Taylor of Long Beach, California, now in its 9th Edition. Both texts are widely relied upon by judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers. The national book has even been cited twice by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Steve was a founding member of The National College for DUI Defense, Inc. and was a member of the Board of Regents of the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. from 1999 until 2011. Mr. Oberman served as Dean of the organization from 2009 - 2010 and was named Dean Emeritus from 2010 - 2011. He currently remains active in the organization and has held the designation of "Fellow" since 2011.

Additionally, Mr. Oberman has been chair or co-chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' DUI Committee since 1995 and is a frequent contributor to The Champion, its official publication. Mr. Oberman is one of only a few lawyers in the nation who has been certified to administer the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. He was also the first lawyer in Tennessee to be Board Certified as a DUI Defense Specialist by the National College for DUI Defense.

Steve has been described him as: “[the] Godfather statewide in the area of DUI”; “Brilliant lawyer, great teacher”; and “Well-regarded trial attorney with ‘professorial’ demeanor... .” He has also been honored as Lawyer of the Year on multiple occasions in the areas of Criminal Defense: General Practice, and in DUI Defense. Moreover, he has been named as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” by the publication of the same name; a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer” by the American Trial Lawyers Association; and a “Super Lawyer” by Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine. Moreover, "U.S. News and World Report" designated Oberman & Rice as a "Tier 1 Best Law Firm" in Tennessee for DUI Defense and Criminal Defense. Mr. Oberman also maintains the highest rating from the renowned Martindale-Hubbell™ and AVVO rating systems.

Contact & Links
Location
  • 550 Main Street, Suite 730
    Knoxville, TN 37902
Languages
  • English
Demographics
  • Gender: Male
Education
  • The University of Tennessee, J.D., graduated 1980
  • Auburn University, B.A., graduated 1977
Bar Admissions
  • Tennessee, Tennessee Bar Association
Affiliations
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers - Chair, DUI Committee
  • National College for DUI Defense - Dean 2009-2010
Court Admissions
  • Tennessee Supreme Court (1980)
  • U. S. Supreme Court (1985)
  • U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee (1980)
  • U. S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (1981)
  • U. S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (1983)
  • Tennessee Court of Appeals (1980)
  • Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals (1980)

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2024 - DUI / DWI Defense Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2022 - DUI / DWI Defense Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2020 - Criminal Defense: General Practice Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2018 - Criminal Defense: General Practice Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2013 - Criminal Defense: General Practice
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
  • DUI / DWI Defense, Knoxville (2024)
  • DUI / DWI Defense, Knoxville (2022)
  • Criminal Defense: General Practice, Knoxville (2020)
  • Criminal Defense: General Practice, Knoxville (2018)
  • Criminal Defense: General Practice, Knoxville (2013)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024 for work in:
  • Criminal Defense: General Practice
  • DUI / DWI Defense
Special Focus:
  • DWI Defense
  • State and Federal

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Areas of Concentration
Criminal Defense: DUI / DWI, Criminal Fraud, Criminal Domestic Violence; Personal Injury: Plaintiff
Certifications
Board Certified as a DUI Defense Specialist by the National College for DUI Defense

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