Lance Stodghill’s practice focuses on defending clients before the Internal Revenue Service in audits and appeals involving income tax liabilities, employee benefits, pension plans and employment taxes; as well as representing clients against the Internal Revenue Service in the United States Tax Court.  Lance also provides his clients with general advice on tax collection issues arising from these audits and litigation.  In addition to his tax controversy practice, Lance serves as a mediator on a wide variety of cases and assists clients with estate planning and probate matters.

Lance attended the University of New Orleans as a National Merit Scholar, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993.  Lance Stodghill graduated cum laude from the University of Houston Law Center in May 1997, and also earned an M.B.A. from the University of Houston in May 1997.  

After law school, Lance accepted a position as an attorney with Nistico & Crouch in Houston, Texas where he represented insurance companies in cases involving insurance fraud, arson and staged automobile accidents.   

He later accepted a position as an attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  As a senior attorney for the Office of Chief Counsel, Lance litigated numerous cases before the United States Tax Court, including complex issues involving depreciation, offshore private annuities and trusts.  Lance advised IRS agents on issues involving collections, partnerships, corporations and trusts.  Lance served as the attorney-advisor for several abusive tax scheme investigations, including offshore trusts, offshore credit card programs, and employee welfare benefit promotions.  Lance left the Office of Chief Counsel in 2007 to open a tax controversy practice.  From December 2007 through May 2009, Lance practiced at Jackson Lewis in the benefits section where he assisted clients involved in section 412(i) pension plan audits and who were accused of participating in listed transactions. 

Lance is a member of the State Bar of Texas Taxation Section and the Houston Bar Association Taxation Section. 

Lance is also represents the Houston Bar Association Tax Section on the IRS/Tax Practitioner Study Group.

Lance was named a 2009 Texas Rising Star. The special recognition is reserved for the top Texas lawyers age 40 or younger or those practicing law 10 or fewer years. The list of Texas Rising Stars appears in the April 2009 issue of Texas Monthly Magazine and in Texas Rising Stars 2009, a publication by the publishers of Law & Politics Media, Inc.

Lance is admitted to practice law in Texas, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern Districts of Texas, and the United States Tax Court.