William J. Lee, JD, MS, FACE
William J. Lee, JD, MS, FACE, is an epidemiologist and legal expert who works at the intersection of public health, law, and policy. He currently serves as Scientific Director at Kershaw Talley Barlow, where he leads the firm’s scientific practice group and supports nationally recognized mass tort and class action litigation. In this role, William collaborates with multidisciplinary experts to develop scientific and medical evidence, while also conducting his own epidemiological and biostatistical analyses. His work focuses on large-scale cases involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices, often impacting hundreds of thousands of patients across federal and state courts.
William’s career reflects a unique blend of scientific and legal expertise. He earned his Master of Science in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from Yale University before going on to receive his Doctor of Law with honors from Emory University School of Law. Prior to entering the legal field, he worked in academia and with federal scientific agencies, contributing to public health research and policy. Since transitioning into law, he has applied advanced epidemiological methods—including frequentist and Bayesian analyses—to evaluate post-market safety data, develop causation evidence, and support high-impact litigation strategies that have influenced regulatory actions, including FDA investigations and product safety reviews.
In addition to his legal practice, William serves as President of the American College of Epidemiology Research and Education Foundation, where he helps advance research, education, and public health initiatives. He has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology (FACE) in recognition of his significant contributions to the field. Passionate about health equity, William is dedicated to using the legal system as a tool to reduce patient risk and improve outcomes for underserved populations. Through his leadership, research, and advocacy, he continues to shape the evolving role of epidemiology in law and public health on a national scale.
• Emory University School of Law - Doctor of Law with Honors, Phi Delta Phi, Certificate in Transactional Law
• Yale University - Master of Science Secundi Honoris Academici, Chronic Disease Epidemiology
• Duke University - Bachelor of Science, Cell and Molecular Biology, Minor in Chemistry
• JD
• MS
• FACE (Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology)
• American College of Epidemiology (Elected Fellow)
• American College of Epidemiology Foundation (President)
• International Network for Epidemiology and Policy (INEP/INAP) - Board Member/Representative
William J. Lee has published close to a dozen papers in different peer-reviewed journals throughout his career in epidemiology.
Areas of Specialization/Expertise
- Epidemiology
- Medical Legal Cases
- Public Health Investigations
What do you enjoy most about practicing medicine?
I think what I love about what I do is that I get to combine all of my different training in a way that is meaningful and impactful for patients, for a lot of patients. I obviously have my epidemiology credentials, but then I also bring my legal background in, so I get to work on these legal medical investigations and help a lot of patients out all at once. It's collaborative, like I said, so I get to work with MDs, PhDs, and other JDs, and we all bring our expertise in. What I do is fairly niche within epidemiology - it's not really even the biggest specialty in medicine by far - but I get to work on cases that involve hundreds and thousands of patients in these public health investigations.