WilmerHale Co-Managing Partner Bill Lee has been named one of Boston’s top 50 most powerful people by the Boston Business Journal. This is the first year the BBJ has published its “Power 50” list.

Lee was selected for his commitment to the community, efforts to reshape the economy and accomplishments at WilmerHale since joining the firm in 1976. In selecting Lee for this elite list, the BBJ highlighted his success as the firm’s leader and his prominence as a top IP litigator in the United States, as well as his contributions to building WilmerHale as a balanced institution that has achieved an esteemed professional standing.

Beginning in the year 2000, Lee was managing partner at the Boston-based law firm Hale and Dorr LLP. Four years later, he led the effort to merge two of the nation’s most highly regarded law firms to create a robust, full-service international law firm. Today, with 12 offices and more than 1,000 lawyers, WilmerHale is thriving in the global marketplace. While leading the firm with Co-Managing Partner William Perlstein, Lee has continued to practice law and is one of the most well-respected and exceptionally successful trial lawyers in the country. Despite the remarkable challenges posed by each of these roles, Lee contributes his extraordinary talents outside of WilmerHale as well, serving as a fellow of the Harvard Corporation and helping to develop a new curriculum at Harvard Law School, where he teaches the “Problem Solving Workshop” to first-year law students.

The “Power 50” was launched with the intention to inform a wide-ranging audience about important locally based leaders in various industries. BBJ readers weighed in with their nominations for the region’s most influential businesspeople, and winners were selected based on the merit of their service to the community, their industry and the economy. Click here to learn more about the “Power 50.”