Born in Indianapolis, Lawrence received a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University in 1970 and a Juris Doctor from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1973.

He was a public defender within the Marion County Superior Court from 1974 to 1983.

Lawrence was nominated by President George W. Bush on February 14, 2008, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, to a seat vacated by Judge John Daniel Tinder.

He assumed senior status on July 1, 2018. International child pornography: Roger Lee Loughry Sr., 57, of Baltimore, Md., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William T. Lawrence in the Southern District of Indiana to 30 years in prison for his role as an administrator of an online bulletin board.

On April 15, 2010, Loughry was convicted by a federal jury in the Southern District of Indiana following a four-day trial.