Chapman received an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin (1968) and a law degree from the Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas, Texas (1970). After a stint in private practice, Chapman became the District Attorney for the Eighth Judicial District of Texas (1976-1985). Elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-ninth Congress by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative Sam B. Hall, Chapman was reelected to the five succeeding Congresses (August 3, 1985-January 3, 1997). He was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Fifth Congress in 1996, but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the United States Senate. While in Congress, Chapman served on the House Committee on Appropriations, working on numerous projects including restoration and development of an Army Corps of Engineers-maintained East Texas lake that bore his name, Jim Chapman Lake between located Cooper and Sulphur Springs. The lake has been renamed Cooper Lake by the State of Texas. Chapman currently practices law in the Washington and Austin offices of the Houston-based law firm Bracewell & Giuliani.