Meet the lawyer who is making law something you don’t want to throw up over. Her name is Korey Bahme. She is an Arizona native who has made Mesa her home. Originally from Florence—Korey has overcome obstacle over obstacle in order to become the lawyer she is today. At the sweet age of ten years old, Korey got the idea that she would become a lawyer.
“You’re not that smart,” would be the response to her dreams. That didn’t stop her. Once the idea took root, even though she isn’t sure of the origin, it was her goal and her focus. She achieved amazing grades in high school, graduating with a 4.25 GPA. Korey went to Northern Arizona University, only knowing that she had enough money put together to get through her first semester. During that first semester, Korey would discover she had been awarded a scholarship, the Lumberjack scholarship, which she was able to utilize for the remainder of her undergraduate program. Korey would graduate NAU in three years with two degrees, one in criminology and another in sociology. To add to her accomplishments, Korey was one of the first recipients of the Lumberjack Scholarship to graduate.
While at NAU, Korey got involved with the Innocence Project. The Innocence Project is an organization that works to help those who have been wrongfully convicted. Korey started law school in California but would transfer to ASU to be closer to family and her home. Her work in The Innocence Project would continue on at ASU where she was given the opportunity to co-chair a case and was able to have a pre-trial motion considered by the judge—very impressive work for a law student.
After Korey graduated in 2019 from law school, she started working in the public defender’s office. “I did good work, but the system made it hard,” Korey says when she talks about her time there. She shares stories of helping people, which makes her light up like your favorite set of Christmas lights. It was this part, early in our conversation, where I figured out that Korey has a deep, deep love for helping people. At her core, Korey wants to help her community. Law and her expertise is the vehicle she uses to do exactly that.
After the public defender’s office, Korey found herself in business law. Business law, Korey says, is what she loves doing most. This is the type of law she loves to practice. However, she discovered that while she loves business law—she hates billable hours. It was during this part of the conversation that I discovered that Korey is a system breaker. She is confident in her abilities, her knowledge, her expertise and she uses that to create her own path.
Which is exactly what she did. After a few more job opportunities and setbacks, Korey broke out on her own, starting her own law firm in February 2024. She doesn’t do much marketing, allowing her character and her clients to speak for her. If you were wondering, there is only praise and good things to be said. Her perfect review rating online showcases that.
During the end of our conversation, we talked about her childhood—growing up poor—and how it feels to create the success she is living in today. This is when Korey shared that as a little girl, she had a speech impediment. People struggled to understand her to the point where she would refuse to speak, especially in public. Someone at church, Nancy, would come along and force Korey to speak, to work on her speech. Korey credits Nancy as the catalyst for who she is today. Korey used to struggle with speech, but now she is giving those in her community a voice in the legal world.
Korey used to struggle with speech, now she is giving a voice to those who need one.