About the Secretary
Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee
Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis as Florida’s 36th Secretary of State and began serving in February 2019. Secretary Lee previously served as the Circuit Court Judge in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County. She was appointed to the Circuit Court by Governor Rick Scott in 2013 and re-elected without opposition in 2014.
During her time as Circuit Court Judge, Secretary Lee presided in the Circuit Civil Division, the Civil Appellate Division and the Domestic Relations Division. She was also a member of the Florida Supreme Court’s Steering Committee on Family and Children in the Courts and the Florida Supreme Court’s Commission on Trial Court Performance and Accountability.
Prior to serving as a Judge, Secretary Lee was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Florida where she initiated and prosecuted a wide range of criminal offenses. Her special responsibilities included serving as the Violence Against Women Act Coordinator, the coordinator for the interagency Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group, and as the lead prosecutor for the Child Prostitution Task Force.
Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Secretary Lee worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Middle District of Florida and as a judicial law clerk to United States District Court Judge James S. Moody, Jr. She previously practiced law at Carlton Fields, P.A. in Tampa where she specialized in antitrust and complex business litigation.
In addition to her extensive legal and judicial experience, Secretary Lee has been an active member of her community where she has served on a variety of local boards and volunteered with numerous community organizations, including as a pro bono attorney through the Bay Area Legal Services Domestic Violence Assistance Program.
Secretary Lee received her Bachelor’s Degree and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida, where she was a member of Florida Blue Key. She was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame in 1999.
Secretary Lee is married to former Florida State Senator Tom Lee and they have three children, Regan, Brandon and Faith.