Kania, Charles J.

BULLETIN: Named one of the Top Fifty Lawyers in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal in 2010 and one of the Top Fifty Lawyers in the state by Mid-South Super Lawyers in 2010; also one of the top 500 lawyers in the U.S. by LawDragon in 2010.

Lance Stevens has been practicing exclusively personal injury law for over twenty four years. He is the former President of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association for the years 2000-2001, a group then representing all 1,000 of the best trial lawyers in the state. Lance also received the Mississippi Trial Lawyer of the Year award in 1999 and 2003, the only Mississippi lawyer to be awarded that honor twice, and the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year in the U.S. from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America in 1999, a group composed of tens of thousands of trial lawyers across the country.

Lance has been named one of the Top Fifty Lawyers in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal in 2010 and one of the Top Fifty Lawyers in the state by Mid-South Super Lawyers in 2010. He has also been named one of the top 500 lawyers in the U.S. by LawDragon in 2010. The American Society of Legal Advocates named Lance one of the top 100 litigation attorneys in Mississippi in 2013. He has also testified as a legal expert on several occasions.

Lance has been invited to speak to lawyers across the country, and on two Caribbean islands, on topics such as bad faith, jury selection, opening statements, inadequate security, closing arguments, subrogation and uninsured motorist law. He has personally authored several statutes that are currently on the books as a part of his continuing effort to educate the legislative branch of government on the needs of injured victims and the judicial process. Both Lance and his partner have been awarded the “Stone Pony” Lifetime Achievement Award with the Mississippi Association for Justice.

On a personal note, Lance is the father of four children (all teenagers as of this writing) and happily married to Beth Stevens. Like his partner, he has coached numerous soccer teams, baseball teams and golf teams. His hobbies include golf, woodworking, movies and politics.

Scholarly Presentations:

CLE Speaker: National Business Institute, "Insurance Coverage Law in Mississippi," 1994;

MTLA,"Trial Techniques," November 1994;

MTLA, "Insurance Law Seminar," April 1996;

ATLA, San Diego, "Politics and Law", August 1997;

MTLA, "Uninsured Motorist Update," April 1998;

MTLA, "PI Settlements and Subrogation," Cancun, Mexico, April 1999;

ATLA, "Reducing Costs by Limiting Defense Experts," San Francisco, CA, August 1999;

"Subrogation: Make Whole Not War," MTLA, 2000;

"Bad Faith Reliance on Void Exclusions," MTLA, Hattiesburg, 2001;

"Putting the Power in Your Point," Arkansas Trial Lawyers Assn., Summer 2002;

"Inadequate Security: Protecting the Patron," MTLA 2003;

"Uninsured Motorist Law: Elementary to Advanced; Old School to New School," Miss. College Law School, June, 2006;

"Voir Dire of the Jury 2006," Miss. College Law School, 2006;

"Uninsured Motorist: Basic to Advanced," MTLA 2007;

"Opening Statement: A Genuine Opportunity," MAJ Masters of Trial series, Feb. 2008;

"Visual Obstructions in the Roadway," AAJ Midwinter Convention, New Orleans, 2009;

"Visual Obstructions in the Roadway," MAJ Annual Convention, New Orleans, 2009;

"Workers' Compensation Bad Faith," MAJ seminar, February 2011;

"CLE Speaker, MTLA, "Inadequate Security: Protecting the Patron," MTLA 2003;

"CLE Speaker, Miss. College Law School, "Uninsured Motorist Law: Elementary to Advanced; Old School to New School," Jackson, MS, June, 2006;

"CLE Speaker, Miss. College Law School, "Voir Dire of the Jury” Jackson, MS, 2006;

"CLE Speaker, MTLA,  "Uninsured Motorist: Basic to Advanced," 2007;

"CLE Speaker, MAJ,  "Opening Statement: A Genuine Opportunity," MAJ Masters of Trial series, Jackson, MS, Feb. 2008;

"CLE Speaker, American Association for Justice,  "Visual Obstructions in the Roadway," AAJ Midwinter Convention, New Orleans, 2009;

"CLE Speaker, MAJ,  "Visual Obstructions in the Roadway," MAJ Annual Convention, New Orleans, 2009;