Sir William Lee was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 jurist and politician.

He was an MP from 1727 until 1730 when he became a Justice of the King's Bench

Justice of the King's Bench

Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern academics argue was founded independently in 1234,...

. Lee was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...

 from 1737-06-08 until his sudden death in 1754. He was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

 as a temporary expedient on 1754-03-08, with his brother Sir George Lee as Under Treasurer of the Exchequer, until April 6. Lord Campbell

John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell

John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell PC, KC was a British Liberal politician, lawyer, and man of letters.-Background and education:...

noted that Lee 'certainly stood up for the rights of woman more strenuously than any English judge before or since his time'.