WILLIAM J. ZEE, Partner, Chair of Education Law Group

William J. Zee is a partner of the firm. He serves as chair of the Education Law Group. Bill has represented public and private schools, intermediate units, higher education institutions, and community benefit organizations throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey for the past 20 years. He leads the Education Group’s professional development and training initiatives, with a special focus on student services, trauma-informed and restorative practices, student mental health efforts, and public-school policy. Bill was most recently honored as a “Law Firm Innovator” by the Legal Intelligencer as part of the 2022 Legal Excellence Awards. In 2021, for his work in trauma-informed education, Bill was honored as American Lawyer “Northeast Legal Trailblazer”, and “Pennsylvania Legal Trailblazer” and “Law Firm Innovator” by the Legal Intelligencer. In 2021, Bill was recognized as a “Leader in Law” by the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal. Bill was selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2022, which recognizes lawyers whose career has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of society. He has also been rated a “Rising Star” and earned the designation of 2024 Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers. Bill is a highly sought-after public speaker, and regularly lectures locally and nationally to education agencies and special interest groups on a wide range of topics. In addition, he is often selected to provide testimony and written commentary to legislative bodies pertaining to issues impacting public education. Before entering the private practice of law, Bill taught at the secondary level in the public schools in Philadelphia and New Jersey and higher education at Eastern Michigan University and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. He served as a Dean in both admissions and academic affairs. He holds a B.A. from Rutgers University, M.S.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, and a Certificate in Leadership Principles from Harvard Business School. Bill is currently engaged in post-graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. Bill is a dedicated servant leader on the board of directors for a number of community benefit organizations that are important to him, including the Touchstone Foundation, the Lancaster Education Foundation, and formerly Aaron’s Acres. He also serves on the Diversity Committee for the Lancaster Bar Association, and was recently selected to serve on the Pennsylvania School Board (PSBA) Solicitors Association as Section 7 Director, Pennsylvania Bar Association Education Law Council, and the Attachment & Trauma Network’s Board of Directors.

Areas Practiced: Education Law, Employment and Labor Law