“Max Bahner often said that if he had a dozen lives to live, then he’d live each one as a lawyer,” recalled attorney Bill Pickering during the Chattanooga Bar Association’s annual memorial service, held March 1 in the Hamilton County Commission Room. “The law was Max’s calling, and he excelled at it in many ways.”
Tasked with summarizing the life of a “trial attorney, wise counselor, bar leader, mentor and fierce advocate for equal justice,” as well as a man who was “much more than a fine attorney,” Pickering could have spoken for hours, but instead spent only a few minutes sharing a handful of stories that captured the full essence of Bahner, who died Oct. 13.
Such was the challenge that faced each of the six speakers as they delivered a memorial and called upon a full complement of Hamilton County’s judges to enter the resolution they’d prepared into the archives of the bar association and the Memorial Resolution Book of the circuit and chancery courts of Chattanooga.
As a chilly rain fell from a boil of gray clouds outside, the friends, family members and fellow jurists who attended the service found “light and warmth emanating from the memories of giants” within the room, noted Bahner’s pastor, Rev. Thomas Quisenberry of First Baptist Church, during his invocation.
Before calling the first presenter to the podium to deliver his memorial, presiding Judge Michael Dumitru urged the younger attorneys in attendance to not just listen to the resolutions but also embrace them as “lessons in character and the establishment of a professional standard.”
The Hon. William Barker
Attorney Hugh Moore forged the first steps of this journey with his resolution for the Hon. William “Muecke” Barker, the former Tennessee Supreme Court chief justice who died April 3.
Moore stressed Barker’s service as a “compassionate trial judge, a meticulous appellate judge and a visionary leader of the Supreme Court,” and discussed his roles outside of the halls of justice as a “devoted husband, loving father and treasured friend.”
Despite Barker’s status as a legal luminary, he found time to perform in several productions at Signal Mountain Playhouse, including “The Odd Couple,” “South Pacific” and “Annie Get Your Gun,” Moore remarked.
“Muecke touched our lives, whether it was through his legal practice or as a friend. His legacy will continue to inspire those of us who were fortunate to know him. We’ll profoundly miss his presence, wisdom and the warmth of his friendship,” Moore concluded.
Mark Johnson Mayfield
Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Rucker provided a brief overview of the life and 40-year career of attorney Mark Johnson Mayfield, who died April 5, before turning away from the judges to tell those in attendance about “the real Mark Johnson Mayfield.”
“For the first several years of my career, I spent every Thursday meeting with creditors in bankruptcy court. Chapter 13 trustee Kenneth Still would preside, and Mark and I always sat to his left,” Rucker recalled.
“On the other side of the table marched a parade of debtors attorneys. [Attorney] Roger Dixon referred to it as furniture court, but we knew it was a unit of the federal district court where important things happened and people received a fresh start.”
Mayfield attended the sessions as a creditors’ attorney, Rucker remembered, but his contributions extended beyond the machinations of the court.
“Watching Mark taught me how to question witnesses, and how to discern when I needed to go deeper. Then there was the moment when I thought I’d done a super job with an objection, and Mark leaned over and said, ‘You could have gotten more.’
“Mark taught me how to be a relentless and zealous advocate for a creditor, as well as to be kind and supportive to your opposing counsel. These are lessons I’ll always treasure.”
William Thomas Alt
If the bar had conscripted attorney Bill Colvin to prepare a resolution for William Thomas Alt many years ago, Colvin would have referred to Alt as his adversary.
However, after later working together with Alt on a number of cases, Colvin told the judges and guests about “the adversary who became my friend.”
“Those of us who knew Bill as an adversary knew him as a ferocious advocate for his client – and I mean ‘ferocious advocate’ in the most positive way. He meticulously developed the facts and studied the law to present the best possible argument on behalf of his clients.
“I bore the brunt of that preparation more than once, but I also saw another side of Bill when I had the good fortune to be his co-counsel and collaborator. While Bill could exhaustively question a witness in a deposition, he was no less exhausted in questioning his own client to learn the facts, as well as to understand what motivated the client to do or not do whatever the client had done or not done.”
Colvin continued, saying to know Alt only as an advocate was to barely know him at all, as he was a dedicated family man.
“Bill’s love and devotion to his wife was palpable. He’d light up when introducing her and, in private, he always spoke of his children and stepchildren and their families with great love and pride. Few of us saw his joy in his large family, and few of us knew that half of his home library consisted of books about Christ and living a life centered on faith and belief in salvation.”
Colvin concluded his resolution by declaring that Alt, who died March 23, embraced life in ways that inspired meaning and purpose in the people around him.
“Bill challenged people to engage their curiosity to think more deeply, and to pursue knowledge and truth on the path of reason. He inspired persistent commitment, candor and patience. He exuded joy and sincerity, delighted those close to him in laughter, and charmed them with his wit and gaiety. He humbled them by means of his intellect, wisdom and faith. [And] he personified grace, compassion and humility.”
John Wolfe, Jr.
While Colvin referred to Alt as “the adversary who became my friend,” Judge Thomas Wyatt described John Wolfe, Jr., in a way that befitted his name: as a “lone wolf.”
However, Wolfe’s impact on the practice of law extended beyond his one-man practice, Wyatt said during his remarks.
“Before television and billboard advertising, lawyers mainly marketed themselves through the Yellow Pages. Most of the ads looked like a business card, with a phone number, an address and a list of practice areas. John had a different approach. His ad read, ‘If you’ve been hit by a negligent driver or been hurt on the job, call John Wolfe.’ It was very successful and landed John a lot of cases.”
Wyatt said Wolfe is best known for representing people the police, jailers and governmental agencies have allegedly mistreated. As Wolfe advocated for these clients, few people knew he often represented them for little or no fee.
“John was a champion of the disadvantaged and the poor. He gave a voice to a lot of people in Chattanooga who didn’t have one.”
Wolfe, who died Sept. 3, was less successful in politics, his second passion. Although Wolfe ran for office several times, his “pro-peace, anti-big money and pro-government assistance” stance was a tough pill for local conservatives to swallow, Wyatt speculated.
Nevertheless, Wyatt said his friend’s progressive thinking helped him to stand out and gave hope to the indigent he secretly served.
James Anderson, Jr.
CBA 2024 President Steve Smith presented the resolution the association prepared for James Anderson, Jr., who died Sept. 6.
Smith said Anderson tirelessly devoted himself to client legal matters and business issues, which he resolved with sound reasoning and hard work.
“His clients were his friends, and his friends were his clients,” said Smith.
Beyond his practice, Anderson devoted himself to community service, which included membership with the Chattanooga Jaycees, the creation of the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Services, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area.
“Jim worked on the construction of Habitat’s first house in 1987 and continued as both a construction volunteer and in various other capacities,” Smith recalled.
At the time of his death, Anderson had been an active member of Signal Crest United Methodist Church for nearly 60 years.
“Jim loved to debate and could be strong-willed,” Smith said in conclusion, “but he always made time to help others with a giving heart.”
Thomas Maxfield Bahner
Although Bahner would have spent 12 lives practicing law, he had but one, and that was sufficient, said Pickering. From counseling his firm’s largest clients, to serving the legal needs of people who couldn’t afford to pay for his services, Bahner left behind an unforgettable legacy.
“Max was not afraid to take on unpopular causes,” Pickering said as he began to tell the story of Bahner’s decadelong representation of a death row inmate.
“In 1990, he agreed to represent a death row inmate who’d been convicted of first-degree murder in a well-publicized and sensational case. Max and his co-counsel spent many hours investigating the case using every available resource, as if the inmate was their most important corporate client. This work uncovered significant new evidence that had not been introduced at trial. In 1999, the inmate’s petition for post-conviction was granted and subsequently affirmed by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.”
Bahner’s client was retried and ultimately found not guilty.
While this was a monumental victory, Pickering says Bahner never spoke of his accomplishments, but rather sough to elevate others.
“I never heard Max talk about himself. His questions were always about you, your interests, your family and their accomplishments.”
For this reason, Pickering continues, Bahner will be remembered for his kindness, thoughtfulness and respectful nature above all else.
“Max’s accomplishments are unsurpassed, yet he went about his work with humility, a self-deprecating sense of humor, and a genuine love for helping others. He had no selfish bones in his body. What a life well lived.”
During the benediction, Quisenberry urged those in attendance to continue to remember those who had been memorialized and to emulate their examples.
“We can do nothing greater than remember who and what is important in our lives. So, may we all remember the names we’ve said today. May we remember what made them great, and may we all, in our own ways, strive to also be people worth remembering.”