Lance was born and raised in Delta and graduated from Delta High School. Lance received his bachelor's degree in history from Colorado Mesa University and his law degree, summa cum laude, from Gonzaga University School of Law. 

Lance began his law practice at the international law firm, Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, in its Seattle office before returning home to practice in Grand Junction. In practice, Lance has handled complex commercial litigation, real estate litigation, professional negligence, probate litigation and domestic relations matters.

Lance served for 6 years as a district court judge in the 21st Judicial District (Mesa County). As a district judge, Lance handled civil, domestic relations, criminal, probate, protected persons proceedings, juvenile delinquency cases, dependency and neglect cases, mental health cases, cases involving special districts and Rule 105 proceedings. 

His rulings included a determination that a fee charged by the Grand Valley Drainage District was an unconstitutional tax under TABOR, that the presence of family members at attorney meetings waive attorney client privilege absent special circumstances (Kayla Fox v. Brady Chiropractic), that interpreation of body language does not require expert training (People v. Murphy), the prosecution for murder in another country does not bar prosecution in Colorado (People v. Garcia), and that an accused must demonstrate a knowing, voluntary and intelligent waiver of the right to counsel before the individual can be self-represented (People v. Lavadie). 

Since leaving the bench, Lance has worked with parties to reach mediated resolutions in a variety of cases. Lance has conducted over 100 mediations. He has also consulted with lawyers on case strategy and trial presentation. 

Outside of the law, Lance enjoys the outdoors - hiking, skiing, spending time with family, traveling and yoga. Lance is also a 200 hour certified yoga teacher.