Lance was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, into a political family.
After attending North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, New Jersey, Lance received a B.A. from Lehigh University in 1974, a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1977 and an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in New Jersey in 1982 [REF].