Lee was nominated to his present position as United States District Judge by President Bill Clinton on May 22, 1998, and received his commission on October 1, 1998.
Prior to ascending to the bench, Lee was a trial lawyer for fifteen years, representing individuals and businesses in civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts.
He was an elected member of the Virginia State Bar Council, Chairman of the General Practice of Law Section, President of the Northern Virginia Black Attorneys Association, and Chairman of the Judicial Selection Committee of the Alexandria Bar Association.
Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court, Lee was a trial judge with the 19th Judicial Circuit of Virginia (Fairfax) for six and one-half years.
In April 1998, Virginia's United States Senators Chuck Robb and John Warner recommended Lee for appointment to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, to fill the seat vacated when Judge James C. Cacheris assumed senior status.
[2] Lee coined the phrase "adrenaline of excellence" for what occurs in the instant before entering the courtroom to begin a proceeding.
In 2003, Lee dismissed the kidnapping and murder charges against Jay E. Lentz, a former naval intelligence officer, even though a jury had found him guilty.