Elder Wickman Named Legal Services Leader

The First Presidency has announced the appointment of Elder Lance B. Wickman as managing director of Church Legal Services, effective 1 January 1996.

Prior to his call as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy in 1994, Elder Wickman was a partner in the San Diego office of the international law firm of Latham and Watkins.

A native of Seattle, Washington, Elder Wickman graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and from Stanford University Law School. He served a two-year mission to the Central States Mission and spent five years in the U.S. Army before enrolling in law school.

As an attorney, Elder Wickman has argued cases in both state and federal courts, including the California Supreme Court and the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court. He has served as a judge pro tem of the San Diego superior and municipal courts.

Elder Wickman has served as a bishop, stake president, and regional representative. He and his wife, Patricia Farr, are the parents of five children, four of whom are living.

In making the announcement, President Gordon B. Hinckley noted, “We are profoundly grateful to Wilford W. Kirton for the great service he has rendered [as general counsel for the Church for more than thirty years]. … It is anticipated that the firm which he founded will continue to serve the Church.”