Since graduating from the University of Tennessee Law School in 1980, Mr. Oberman established himself as a national authority on the intricacies of DUI law. Early in his practice, Mr. Oberman developed an extensive knowledge of defending those charged with the crime of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Due in large part to his background in the sciences, Mr. Oberman has a unique perspective in defending those accused of DUI. Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, Steve has successfully represented thousands of clients charged with assault, drug offenses, theft, DUI, Vehicular Homicide, and other criminal offenses in both state and federal courts across Tennessee and occasionally, across the country. 

Now managing partner of the firm, Steve focuses his representation to those charged with Tennessee criminal offenses, with a special emphasis on driving under the influence (DUI) cases and other major crimes.  He regularly represents defendants with cases in Knoxville, Tennessee and the surrounding cities such as Clinton and Oak Ridge in Anderson County, Maryville (Blount County), Morristown (Hamblen County), Chattanooga and Red Bank (Hamilton County), Dandridge (Jefferson County), Lenoir City and Loudon (Loudon County), Madisonville (Monroe County), Kingston (Roane County), and Sevierville (Sevier County).

In 2006, Steve was the first lawyer in Tennessee to be certified as a DUI Defense Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. (NCDD). He was been a member of the Board of Regents of the NCDD from 1999 until 2011. Steve served as  Dean of the College during the 2009-2010 term and has since been awarded the title of Fellow of the National College for DUI Defense.  Steve is honored to be one of only a few lawyers in the nation who have been certified as an instructor of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Standardized Field Sobriety Tests.

He is the author of DUI: The Crime & Consequences in Tennessee (West-Thomson Reuters)(updated annually since 1991) and co-author with Lawrence Taylor (1942-2023) of the national legal reference book, Drunk Driving Defense (Wolters Kluwer/Aspen)(updated by Mr. Oberman annually since 2003). He has been chair or co-chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ DUI Committee continuously since 1995.  Additionally, Mr. Oberman is a frequent contributor to and serves on the Advisory Board of The Champion, the official publication of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 

Steve has been an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee Law School since 1993 and has received a number of prestigious awards for his faculty contributions. A popular international speaker on various trial techniques and substantive criminal defense law, Steve has lectured over 200 times to various bar associations and organizations in twenty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and ten foreign countries. Host organizations include the American Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The National College for DUI Defense, various agencies of the United States Federal Government, The Police Academy of the Czech Republic, multiple law schools and many state bar associations. In addition to teaching defense lawyers, judges in the United States, England and Canada, Steve has also lectured to prosecutorial organizations and law enforcement officers—having even demonstrated cross-examination techniques at the United States FBI Training Academy, Tennessee Highway Patrol Officers, and The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Service Rangers.

Mr. Oberman has achieved the top designations by leading national lawyer rating systems, including Martindale-Hubbell.  Steve has been named to Tennessee’s “Best Lawyers” List annually since the inception of the list in 2004. He has described as: “[the] Godfather statewide in the area of DUI”; “Brilliant lawyer, great teacher”; and “Well-regarded trial attorney with a ‘professorial’ demeanor. . . .”.  He has also been honored 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 his peers in the publication of the same name.

Mr. Oberman has argued cases from the lowest state court, General Sessions Court, all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court.  In 1985, Steve was even been admitted to the United States Supreme Court.  In 2008, Mr. Oberman argued a DUI case before the Tennessee Supreme Court where the Court unanimously agreed with Mr. Oberman’s legal analysis and dismissed the case. To read the Court’s opinion, please click here.

Of all his honors, however, Steve is most proud of being selected to teach American Criminal Law and American Trial Advocacy (how to try cases) for a semester as a Fulbright Scholar Visiting Adjunct Professor on two separate occasions.  According to U.S. News & World Report, the Fulbright Scholars Program is “… one of the most widely recognized and prestigious international exchange programs in the world … .”  Steve first served in this capacity at the University of Latvia Faculty of Law in 2019 and later at the largest law school in Slovenia, the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Law in 2024.  Steve also taught the same courses by an independent invitation for a semester in 2023 at the oldest and largest university in Hungary, Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law, in Budapest.  

Steve has been a featured guest on many local and national radio and television programs, where he has provided commentary on criminal defense issues ranging from the O.J. Simpson murder trial to, of course, DUI defense.

More information about Steve can be found by clicking here or you may click here to view his resume.

Regardless of whether you or a loved one is charged with DUI, another criminal offense, or needs assistance with a civil case, Mr. Oberman will be happy to consult with you.  He will consider accepting your case, or refer you to a more qualified lawyer in the event the case is not within his field of expertise.  Above all, he believes that, “Your Future Is Our Present Concern.”