Sharon Lee earned the baccalaureate in accounting (with high honors) from the UT College of Business in 1975. In 1978 she earned the JD from the UT Law School. She practiced law in Madisonville from 1978 and served as county attorney for Monroe County, Madisonville city judge, and city attorney for Vonore and Madisonville, until appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section, in June 2004. With her appointment, she became the first woman to serve on the court of appeals, eastern section, since the establishment of the court in 1925. She was elected to the appeals court in August 2004 and reelected in August 2006. She was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court on September 29, 2008.