Timothy A. Wilkins
{{Short description|American lawyer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Timothy Wilkins
| image = Timothy A. Wilkins.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1964}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| education = Harvard University (BA, JD, MBA)
| relatives = David B. Wilkins (brother)
J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. (uncle)
J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. (grandfather)
}}
Timothy A. Wilkins is an American lawyer and chair of the board of directors of New York Public Radio. He is a partner at the international law firm of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and was the firm’s first Black partner in the United States offices.
Early life and education
Wilkins was born in 1964 and grew up in Chicago, IL. He graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory School in 1982.{{Cite web|date=Fall 2017|title=Lab Life|url=https://www.ucls.uchicago.edu/uploaded/publications/lablife/LabLife_fall_2017.pdf|website=Lab Life, the magazine for alumni, parents, and friends of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools|page=47}} Wilkins graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1986{{Cite web|title=Bloomberg News|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/18698661|access-date=2021-06-26|website=www.bloomberg.com}} where he majored in sociology and was president of the Harvard Black Student Association.{{Cite web|title=Black Alumni, Students Gather {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1985/3/2/black-alumni-students-gather-pninety-two/|access-date=2021-06-26|website=www.thecrimson.com}}
Wilkins later earned a dual JD/MBA degree from the Harvard Law School and the Harvard Business School in 1993.
Career
Wilkins began his career as an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.{{Cite web|date=May 7, 2015|title=Mayor de Blasio Names Board of Directors of NYC Global Partners|url=http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/296-15/mayor-de-blasio-names-board-directors-nyc-global-partners|access-date=2021-06-25|website=The official website of the City of New York}}
He joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 1999 and spent eight years practicing law in the Tokyo office handling international transactions.{{Cite web|last=Rice|first=Lewis|title=Reflections on the Journey: Voices from the Celebration of Black Alumni|url=https://today.law.harvard.edu/feature/reflections-on-the-journey/|access-date=2021-06-25|website=Harvard Law Today|language=en-US}}
In 2016 Wilkins was named the Minority Lawyer of the Year in Private Practice by Chambers USA. He was listed as the highest-ranked lawyer on the Financial Times list of 100 Leading Ethnic Minority Executives{{Cite news|title=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/53cf6e1a-3fa9-11e7-82b6-896b95f30f58|access-date=2021-06-25|website=www.ft.com|date=25 May 2017 }} and recognized by Empower as a leader on issues of racial justice and equality.{{Cite web|date=2020-06-27|title=Freshfields Lawyers Recognized For Leadership In Advancing Racial Equality And Sustainability|url=https://www.lawfuel.com/blog/freshfields-lawyers-recognized-for-leadership-in-advancing-racial-equality-and-sustainability/|access-date=2021-06-25|language=en-us}}
In 2019, Wilkins was selected to lead a global team at Freshfields focusing on sustainability,{{Cite web|date=2021-06-22|title='Sustainable companies have been the relative 'winners' during COVID-19'|url=https://www.thelawyer.com/sustainable-companies-have-been-the-relative-winners-during-covid-19/|access-date=2021-06-25|website=The Lawyer {{!}} Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs|language=en}} environmental and social issues.{{Cite web|title=America's CEOs Stated A New Goal. Now Law Firms See Opportunities in Getting Them There|url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020/08/19/americas-ceos-stated-a-new-goal-now-law-firms-see-opportunities-in-getting-them-there/|access-date=2021-06-25|website=The American Lawyer|language=en}} Their first assignment focused on ways to solve New York City’s sustainability issues,{{Cite web|date=2021-06-09|title=Increase in clients' ESG transparency is driving law firms to create new sustainability practice areas|url=https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/legal/esg-transparency-law-firms/|access-date=2021-06-26|website=Thomson Reuters Institute|language=en-US}} such as waste, resources, climate change, and job creation.{{Cite web|title=Freshfields Starts Sustainability Team Led by NY Partner (1)|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/freshfields-starts-sustainability-team-led-by-new-york-partner|access-date=2021-06-25|website=news.bloomberglaw.com|language=en}} He later co-founded the New York Circular City Initiative, a program to develop a circular economic system that promotes greater employment and a greener environment for the city, including its less advantaged neighborhoods.{{Cite web|title=The EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Role Models 2020|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yahoofinance-empower-top-100-ethnic-minority-executives-2020-230137309.html|access-date=2021-06-26|website=finance.yahoo.com|date=17 June 2020 |language=en-US}}
Personal life
Wilkins is the brother of Harvard Law professor David B. Wilkins.{{Cite web|last1=Rice|first1=Lewis|date=January 1, 2012|title=Reflections on the Journey: Voices from the Celebration of Black Alumni|url=https://today.law.harvard.edu/feature/reflections-on-the-journey/|access-date=2021-06-25|website=Harvard Law Today|language=en-US}} His father, Julian Wilkins,{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=57ADAAAAMBAJ&q=%22wilkins+wilkins+and+wilkins%22+law+firm&pg=PA12|title=Jet|date=1984-07-23|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|language=en}} was the first Black partner at a major law firm in Chicago.{{Cite web|title=David B. Wilkins's Biography|url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/david-b-wilkins|access-date=2021-06-25|website=The HistoryMakers|language=en}} He is the grandson of J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. and the nephew of J Ernest Wilkins Jr.{{Cite book|last=Wilkins|first=Carolyn Marie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VUTE-ah3gaMC&pg=PT9|title=Damn Near White: An African American Family's Rise from Slavery to Bittersweet Success|date=2010-10-10|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0-8262-7240-9|language=en}}
He is active in several initiatives to broaden diversity in the law.{{Cite web|title=Race, Sustainability, and Social Justice: A Conversation with the Wilkins Brothers|url=https://blackalumninetwork.hlsa.org/article.html?aid=141|access-date=2021-06-26|website=blackalumninetwork.hlsa.org}} He is the founding co-chair of the Steering Committee of The Opportunity Agenda, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding equal opportunity. In 2020 he was named among the EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Role Models.
Wilkins has served on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the New York City Bar Association{{Cite news|last=Bernstein|first=Jacob|date=2016-07-30|title=The Disrupters: Making New York's Cultural Boards More Diverse|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/style/diversity-cultural-boards-trustees-new-york.html|access-date=2021-06-25|issn=0362-4331}} and was a member of the Council of Urban Professionals.{{Cite web|title=Timothy Wilkins|url=https://www.cupusa.org/timothy-wilkins/|access-date=2021-06-26|website=www.cupusa.org}} He has served on several non-profit boards including the New York Public Theater, the City Bar Fund of the New York City Bar Association, and Equality Now. He was also a Committee Member of the Cyrus Vance Center for International Justice and was appointed to the board of New York City Global Partners{{Cite web|title=New York City Global Partners|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/ia/gp/html/about/organization.shtml|access-date=2021-06-26|website=www.nyc.gov}} by Mayor Bill De Blasio in 2015. The mayor later named Wilkins to serve on the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
In 2018, New York Public Radio, the owner of WNYC, the New York affiliate of National Public Radio, named Wilkins to their board.{{Cite web|last=Somers|first=Ryan|date=2018-07-20|title=The corporatization of WNYC|url=https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/new-york-city/bob-hennelly-how-public-is-new-york-public-radio.html|access-date=2021-06-25|website=City & State NY|language=en}} In 2021, Wilkins was named as chairman of the board of New York Public Radio following a string of high-profile incidents involving claims of harassment and discrimination.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-23|title=Wilkins New Chairman NYPR Board|url=https://radioink.com/2021/04/23/wilkins-new-chairman-nypr-board/|access-date=2021-06-25|website=Radio Ink|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last1=Wyllie|first1=Julian|title=Comings and goings: Tracy Brown named WBEZ CCO, Ian MacSpadden becomes CTO for Arizona Public Media …|url=https://current.org/2021/04/comings-and-goings-tracy-brown-named-wbez-cco-ian-macspadden-becomes-cto-for-arizona-public-media/|access-date=2021-06-25|website=Current|date=27 April 2021 |language=en-US}}
References
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Category:Harvard College alumni
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Category:21st-century African-American lawyers
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:American radio executives
Category:People associated with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Category:Lawyers from New York City
Category:University of Chicago Laboratory Schools alumni