The First Presidency has announced the appointment of Elder Lance B. Wickman as managing director of Church Legal Services, effective Jan. 1, 1996.
Elder Wickman, 54, was called to serve as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy on April 2, 1994, from a successful career in law. As a partner in the San Diego office of the international law firm of Latham and Watkins, Elder Wickman specialized in business litigation. He is a native of Seattle, Wash., and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the Stanford University Law School.Following a two-year mission for the Church to the Central British Mission, he served five years in the U.S. Army, including two tours of duty in Vietnam, before enrolling in law school. He is married to the former Patricia Farr of Palo Alto, Calif.; they are the parents of five children, four of whom are living.
As an attorney, Elder Wickman has tried lawsuits and argued appeals in both state and federal courts, including the California Supreme Court and the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He has served as a judge pro tem of the San Diego Superior and Municipal Courts. In the Church he served as a bishop, stake president and regional representative before his call as a General Authority.
In announcing this change, President Gordon B. Hinckley stated, "We are profoundly grateful to Wilford W. Kirton for the great service he has rendered and continues to render to the Church as its principal legal adviser over many years." It is anticipated that the firm which he founded will continue to serve the Church.
