BILL V. WILKINSON was born in Comanche, Oklahoma in 1944. He moved to Bristow, Oklahoma as a teenager and graduated as a Purple Pirate in 1962. He was admitted to the University of Oklahoma as a member of the President's Leadership Class and received his Bachelor of Science in 1966. He then received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa in 1968. While at the University of Tulsa, Mr. Wilkinson was a Member of the Tulsa Law Journal and a Member of the Moot Court Board. He has lived and practiced in Tulsa for the last 40 years.
Mr. Wilkinson worked hard to establish and maintain a law practice with the highest competence, experience, and standards. For over 40 years, he has practiced in the areas of employment law, education law, business and banking, commercial law, appellate law, and trial practice. Mr. Wilkinson has tried countless jury trials and has a stellar reputation as a highly effective litigator.
Mr. Wilkinson is also very active in his community and State. He has served as an Adjunct Professor in Trial Practice at the University of Tulsa College of Law (1982-1983), he is a member of the Tulsa County Bar Association and served on the Judicial Appointments Committee (1974-1983) and the Public Schools Committee (1974-1983), a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and served on the Committee on Law and Citizenship Education (1975-1980), a member of the American Bar Association where he served on the Section on Litigation (1974-1975), and a member of the National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys.
In 1992, Mr. Wilkinson was selected by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma and appointed to a five year term as a Commissioner for the Department of Human Services (DHS). In that role, he served as a member of the governing board for all departments of DHS. Mr. Wilkinson was instrumental in establishing a new program in Oklahoma called the Advantage Waiver Program. The Program allows elderly individuals to receive care and assistance in their own homes instead of being forced to move to a nursing home. For his work, Mr. Wilkinson received the prestigious Agent of Change award from the Oklahoma Long Term Care Authority in 2007.
Mr. Wilkinson is active in his church and has served on many committees and boards, including the Board of Trustees and the Newcomers Board which welcomes new members into the church. He has always been very active in Oklahoma politics and enjoys participating in local, statewide, and national elections. Mr. Wilkinson has served as a Tulsa County Chairman, a state delegate, and he has attended the inaugural celebrations for two different presidents.
Mr. Wilkinson is admitted to practice law in every District Court throughout the State of Oklahoma. He is also admitted to practice in every United States District Court throughout the State of Oklahoma including the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Mr. Wilkinson is admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Since 1988, he has also been admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Central District of California and the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
Many different organizations have requested that Bill Wilkinson speak and present at their events. As a result, Mr. Wilkinson has taught literally hundreds of other Oklahoma lawyers through the Tulsa County Bar Association, the Oklahoma County Bar Association, Lorman Education Services, Sterling, the National Business Institute, and Meds-PDN. The seminar presentations are based on Mr. Wilkinson's hands-on trial experiences and his anecdotal stories involving those experiences. He attempts to blend a discussion of legal theories with the practicalities of the courtroom. Some of the seminars at which he has been an instructor include: Employment Law Seminar, Hiring Issues, July 21, 2001; Writing and Revising Student Handbooks and Other Related School Issues in Oklahoma, May 14, 2002; Teacher Evaluations - Are they Confidential?; Can a School Obtain Teacher Evaluations from a Different School?; Should a Teacher Respond to a Negative Evaluations?, June 20, 2002; Avoiding Employee Lawsuits: Boardroom v. Courtroom, July 24, 2002; Payroll Management Seminar, Myths Regarding the Use of Loaned or Leased Employees and Independent Contractors, November 26, 2002; New Developments Affecting the Workplace in Oklahoma Avoiding Employee Lawsuits, December 17, 2002; Hot Topics In School Law, February 7, 2003; School Law Seminar Violence in Oklahoma Schools, August 26, 2003; Discovery Techniques and Strategy and Ethical Considerations - (A) Confidentiality - What Should or Should Not Be Disclosed and (B) Using Fairness With Opposing Party and Counsel; Keys to Successful Pre-Trial, December 2, 2004; Potential Employer Liabilities Under New Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, September 30, 2004; The Old-fashioned Art of Persuasion in the Courtroom - a Discussion of Important Points Most Often Overlooked in Today's Cyberspace World, 2001; Employment Law Seminar The Most Dangerous ADA Case: Perceived Disability, November 8, 2001; Employment Law Seminar Ethical Concerns for the Employment Lawyer, November 8, 2001; Employment Law 10-Tool Box, May 5, 2006; Employment Law Update Seminar- Protecting At Will Employment, June 15, 2006; Drug Testing in Oklahoma Public Schools Don't Forget the Teachers and Staff; Small Office Management for the Legal Professional, November 15, 2007; How to Get Evidence and Expert Testimony Admitted in Court, June 22, 2006; Advanced Expert Witness Deposition Tactics, December 8, 2005; and Keys to Successful Pre-Trial Preparation, December 2, 2004.
Bill Wilkinson has been married for 44 years and is the proud father of three daughters and grandfather of four granddaughters and two grandsons.
