 A graduate of Wake Forest College and Harvard Law School, Lake joined the staff of North Carolina Attorney General Harry McMullan in 1950.There, he drew upon his knowledge of public utility law to handle rate cases before the state Utilities Commission, which earned him a reputation as a consumer advocate.When the United States Supreme Court invited North Carolina to appear as amicus curiae in the famous "Brown v. Board of Education" case in 1954, Lake argued against it, telling the governor that it was a "diabolical scheme" designed to subject the state directly to whatever orders the Court issued as a consequence of the decision.