Steve Oberman

Steven Oberman is the founder and managing partner of The Oberman & Rice Law Firm practicing primarily in the areas of DUI defense and criminal defense.  Since 1980, Steve has successfully represented over two thousand clients charged with DUI.  He was the first lawyer in Tennessee to be Board Certified as a DUI Defense Specialist by the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD). Steve has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law since 1993 and has received a number of prestigious awards for his faculty contributions. Steve also taught both American Criminal Law and American Trial Advocacy at the University of Latvia Faculty of Law as a Fulbright Scholar in 2019.  According to Wikipedia, the Fulbright Program, sponsored by the United States State Department, is one of the most prestigious and competitive fellowship programs in the world. Back in the U.S., Steve is periodically designated as Special Judge for the Knox County, Tennessee General Sessions Court.  Mr. Oberman's practice, however, is not limited to DUI defense.  He defends those charged with a variety of criminal charges—everything from homicide to health care fraud and is renown for teaching trial techniques to law students as well as seasoned lawyers. Steve is the author of DUI: The Crime & Consequences in Tennessee, a Thomson Reuters Publication widely relied upon by judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers throughout Tennessee. Additionally, Steve is co-author with Lawrence Taylor of the Wolters Kluwer treatise, Drunk Driving Defense, now in its eighth edition.  Steve’s articles have also been published in peer reviewed national legal and scientific journals as well as many other publications.  He has been interviewed by all of the local news media for information about DUI laws and many of the national news media including, The Washington Post, CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MSN Money, ESPN, and NBC Sports. Mr. Oberman is a popular international speaker, having taught thousands of lawyers about DUI defense and trial skills at seminars in 29 different states, The Czech Republic, England, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico and Canada.  His audiences have included seminar and workshop attendees of the National College for DUI Defense, the American Bar Association, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as well as law students at many law schools in the United States and Europe. Mr. Oberman not only educates defense lawyers and the judiciary, but also the prosecution, having lectured in training seminars for The Great Smoky Mountain National Park Rangers, multiple Sheriff’s Departments and for the Tennessee District Attorney Generals Conference.  He has also had the honor of lecturing at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA on the topic of courtroom testimony.  Furthermore, Mr. Oberman was the only private practitioner in the country to participate in a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sponsored symposium of the Feasibility of Per Se Laws for Drugged Driving that was held in Washington, D.C. Among the many honors bestowed upon him, Steve has served as Dean of the National College for DUI Defense and was subsequently designated as a Fellow of the College.  He currently serves as chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers DUI Committee, as he has since 1995. Steve has been awarded the coveted “AV” rating from the renowned Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory—the highest rating awarded to an attorney and one shared by fewer than 7% of all lawyers in the United States.  Steve has been honored with the Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award, and for many consecutive years, 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 National Trial Lawyers; and a “Super Lawyer” by Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine.


Posts by Steve Oberman

“No Refusal” Sobriety Checkpoints on New Year’s Eve

Friday, December 30th, 2016

How Do I Reinstate My Tennessee Driving Privileges?

Tuesday, October 25th, 2016

THP Checkpoints Planned for Labor Day 2016 Weekend

Friday, September 2nd, 2016