Education
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor, 1973
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
1970
Admissions
Alabama Supreme Court/All Alabama Courts/Alabama Bar Association
United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, 2001
United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, 2001
Activities & Affiliations
Alabama State Bar Association, Member
Mobile County Bar Association, Member
Alabama Association for Justice, Member
National Trial Lawyers, Member
James A. Yance, Retired/Of Counsel
Jim Yance graduated from the University of South Alabama in 1970 and went on to attend the University of Alabama School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1973. He entered private practice with the firm of Cunningham, Bounds and Byrd, which later became Cunningham, Bounds, Yance, Crowder and Brown, and remained with the firm for 30 years of his legal career. In January 2004, Mr. Yance assumed “of counsel” status with Cunningham, Bounds. In 2009, with a desire to take an active role in a limited number of cases and to practice law at the firm started by his son Tucker two years earlier, he assumed “of counsel” status with Yance Law Firm. Around 2015, Mr. Yance fully retired from the practice of law.
During his distinguished legal career, Mr. Yance's practice has primarily focused on actions involving product liability, medical malpractice, consumer fraud, industrial accidents, and more recently, class action litigation. He has acted as lead counsel and co-lead counsel in numerous cases involving product liability and medical malpractice, achieving record-setting verdicts in the State of Alabama. He has also served as co-lead class counsel in several national class action cases.
Mr. Yance has served his community and state in many civic and charitable activities including:
Board of Directors, State of Alabama Forever Wild Land Trust
Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees University of South Alabama
Board of Directors, University of Alabama Law School Foundation
Chairman, University of Alabama Law School Farrah Law Society
Chairman of the Board, Alabama Trial Lawyers for Children
Board of Directors, Corporate Foundation for Children
Board of Directors, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Alabama
Board of Directors, Moorer YMCA
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mobile Metropolitan YMCA
Board of Directors, Alabama Wildlife Federation
Mr. Yance currently lives near Malbis with his wife, Frances. He has been a lifelong resident of Mobile and Baldwin Counties, where he has coached youth sports throughout the years for his four children, Jimbo, Tucker, Bill, and Berkley, who are now adults. Mr. Yance and his family are all avid sportsmen and enjoy a number of outdoor sports and activities together.
Memberships and Affiliations
In 1975 Mr. Yance was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association and became one of the youngest Presidents in the history of the organization in 1982 at the age of 35. In 1983 he was elected to the Board of Governors of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He was inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers in 1985 (with membership limited to only 500 lawyers in the world) at the age of 39. He was selected as an Advocate by the American Board of Trial Advocates in 1992 and is also a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 1995 he was certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Civil Trial Specialist. He served as President of the Mobile Bar Association in 2004. He has been listed in the national publication The Best Lawyers in America for many years and Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.Justice Foundation.