His father served as counsel and military lieutenant to the Earl of Arundel.
As a lieutenant to Arundel, Laken was noted for his valour in the defence of England against Welsh military incursions.
William became a lawyer and was called upon by many of England's most powerful landed families to settle the delicate legal disputes that often set the aristocratic houses of the kingdom against one another.
An effigial memorial brass to Sir William Laken can be found at Bray Church in Berkshire, where he was laid to rest alongside his wife Sybilla, daughter and heiress of John Syfrewast, Lord of the Manor of Clewer.
Remaining elements of the Laken family can be found on the East Coast and in the Mid-west of the United States, including Brad Laken, a partner at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.