John Z. Lee is a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Based in Chicago, the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is among the largest and busiest district courts in the federal court system. President Barack Obama nominated Judge Lee to the federal bench on November 10, 2011. His nomination confirmed by the United States Senate on May 7, 2012.

Prior to joining the federal bench, Judge Lee was a partner at the Chicago law firm of Freeborn & Peters LLP, where his areas of focus included: antitrust and trade regulation, intellectual property litigation and complex dispute litigation. As a practicing attorney, Judge Lee had extensive trial and business litigation experience and represented a variety of corporations and businesses in matters involving antitrust, intellectual property and class action law. Before joining Freeborn & Peters LLP, Judge Lee also practiced at the law firms of Mayer Brown and Grippo & Elden LLP.

Judge Lee’s previous legal experience also includes serving in the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., as a Trial Attorney in the Environmental & Natural Resources Division and as Special Assistant to the Counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno during President William Clinton’s first administration.

Judge Lee has also dedicated his time to a variety of civic and public interest organizations. He served as the President of the Board of Directors of CARPLS (Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services), a legal services organization based in Cook County, Illinois, which provides advice to low-income individuals. He also served as the President of Asian Human Services of Chicago, the Midwest’s largest social services organization serving immigrant communities in Chicago. Judge Lee was also on the Board of Directors for the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area and is a member of the American Bar Association and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Judge Lee was born in Aachen, Germany, and spent his early childhood in South Korea. He immigrated to the United States when he was four years old. Judge Lee attended Harvard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philology (the study of ancient Latin and Greek), and received his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.