In 1980, Lee wrote "A Lawyer Looks at the Equal Rights Amendment" where he attempted to legally defend the LDS Church's opposition of Equal Rights Amendment as well as its anti-homosexual viewpoints. He served as Solicitor General of the United States from 1981-85 under President of the United States Ronald Reagan. As Solicitor General, Lee argued cases before the Supreme Court. During his time as Solicitor General, Lee won 23 of the 30 cases he argued during Ronald Reagan's first presidential term. Before he died, he spent time preparing to argue his sixtieth case before the Supreme Court despite being confined to a hospital bed. Associate Justice White said that Lee "was the epitome of integrity." At one point, while being criticized for taking somewhat unpopular stances that might have been at odds with the administration under which he served, Lee responded: "I'm the solicitor general, not the pamphleteer general." Lee relished the opportunity to argue before the Supreme Court. His son, Mike Lee, noted that Lee was very energetic and enthusiastic about arguing cases. In June 1985, Lee resigned as Solicitor General among criticism that he was not conservative enough. In 1986, after his resignation from the Solicitor General's office, Lee was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Lee managed to recover after about a year of cancer treatment and therapy and was named BYU's tenth president. According to some accounts, when Lee was asked to assume the position as university president, he accepted on the condition that he would still be able to argue cases before the Supreme Court in his spare time. He argued nine before his death. As president of BYU, Lee oversaw the creation of clear standards on employment requirements and academic freedom, especially in terms of religious education. Lee believed that religious perspectives in the classroom promote academic freedom rather than hinder it. He also oversaw the streamlining of graduation requirements to aid students in graduating more quickly. Specifically, he limited major requirements to 60 credit hours, encouraging graduation within four years or eight semesters. Furthermore, he reinstated weekly university devotionals. His administration was responsible for growing the size of the campus and prestige of the university. In 1993, Lee decided BYU would offer lower tuition for summer semester to increase enrollment. While president, Lee instituted a rule that added regular church attendance as a requirement for attending BYU (though regular church attendance was not defined), stating that the rule would not be used to force church attendance but those that those best fitted to BYU's environment would, "cheerfully participate in church activity."