Anthony Wilkinson

A few months ago, I received an unexpected notice – a random ethics compliance audit was scheduled for my firm by our state. The letter, much like the stop sign at the end of my street, was abrupt and impossible to ignore. Suddenly, I was facing the daunting task of proving my firm’s compliance to a third-party auditor, with no assurance of what they might find.

However, I’m thrilled to share with you that after undergoing the ethics audit, I received a report from the auditors confirming that I was in 100% compliance with the standards they were evaluating. It was a gratifying affirmation of the dedication and diligence my firm puts into maintaining the highest ethical standards.

It’s possible your business is facing a crisis. You can visualize a great outcome, but you just don’t know how to make it a reality. You’re afraid of what might happen if you do nothing… but what can you do?

Some business owners know about the problem, but – for whatever reason – they choose to do nothing about it. Perhaps there are other priorities, and it’s just not that big of a deal at that point in time. Maybe they believe that the chance of an unfavorable outcome actually happening is so low that it’s not worth fixing the problem.

Other business owners know about the problem, they want to solve it, but they just don’t know how. “Where do I start? Can I do it on my own? Who can I turn to for help?” These common questions cause paralysis, and the problem lingers and festers.

Finally, there’s another group of business owners who know about the problem, want to solve it, AND they also know how to solve it. Their problem is that they are just not ready to take action at the current time. They may need more money. Or perhaps they need a large block of “free time” to initiate the project that will finally solve the issue. It could also be that there are other stakeholders that need to be convinced first in order to garner the support required for the project to succeed. This leads to more procrastination and delays as the problem only becomes worse.

I became a business attorney to help business owners like you. I attended Yale Law School, and during my studies, my focus was always corporate and commercial law. I even took a couple financial management courses while I was at Yale. But why business law instead of family law, immigration law, real estate law, or some other area of practice? Well, it’s because I have been an entrepreneur since I was about seven years old, when I made snowflakes out of paper and sold them door-to-door in my neighborhood. Not long after that, I ran the quintessential lemonade stand. Then there were the mail order greeting cards that I also sold door-to-door. And all of that was just in elementary school! In middle school, I was making potholders to sell to friends and family, and learning how to invest in stocks. After graduating college, I started small businesses in a number of areas, but none have been as successful – or as fulfilling – as running my own law firm. Since I have always had an entrepreneurial mindset, I chose an area of law where I could assist fellow entrepreneurs in achieving their dreams!

I am a teacher – albeit only occasionally as an adjunct professor at a local college and as a volunteer at my church. But nevertheless, I am a teacher at heart. I teach entrepreneurs, founders, and executives how to get their businesses from point A to point B. I want my clients to understand why they are in their current situation, why the destination is better than their current position, and the path to get to the destination. Most importantly, I want them to know how to keep the situation from ever happening to them again.

I am also a tenacious problem solver. That comes from my training as an electrical and computer engineer at the University of Michigan. I graduated summa cum laude at the top of my class, and then worked as a software engineer for a short stint before going to law school. I truly enjoy untangling the complex business issues my clients present, and giving them clarity about the path to a better situation.

But that’s all about me on the outside. What about me on the inside? Focusing on the inside is one of the elements that set me apart from other attorneys. I spend time considering how my clients (and their counterparties) think and feel. This significantly improves the rate of successful outcomes for deals and agreements. The key here is to understand expectations and to craft an agreement that satisfies said expectations. I love to read books, watch videos, and attend events centered around personal development, how people make decisions, and how people change. I’ve been studying these areas for decades, and this has made me a much better business attorney.

I am a man of deep spiritual faith. I have adopted a firm motto that describes the core values that I uphold not only personally with my friends and family, but also professionally with my clients: Trustworthy business advisors keeping your business on TRACK! Trustworthy. Reliable. Available. Caring. Knowledgeable. I exhibit these traits to please my God, and the inevitable result is that they also please my clients. To be “trustworthy” means that I look not to my own interests, but to the interests of my clients. To be “reliable” means that my “yes” means “yes.” I keep my word. I keep my commitments – even when it hurts. To be “available” means I make myself accessible to my clients on the same basis I make myself accessible to my closest friends. To “care” means to feel and to express compassion for another’s adverse situation, and to be willing to take action to alleviate it. To be “knowledgeable” means having the learning, understanding, and skill in the principles that are applicable to a given situation. Trustworthy. Reliable. Available. Caring. Knowledgeable. These are the five core precepts instilled in every team member at our firm. These are the important values we demonstrate to our clients. These are the key principles that make us who we are at Wilkinson Law.

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Mr. Wilkinson attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, where he graduated at the top of his class in electrical and computer engineering before earning his Juris Doctor degree at Yale Law School.

Mr. Wilkinson began his legal career as a judicial law clerk for Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Following his clerkship, he was awarded a position as an associate in the Project Finance Group of the elite law firm of Dewey Ballantine in Manhattan. He has also served as president of an organization that managed the investment activities and tax reporting of the corporate general partner for a five-member investment partnership.

With his extensive background in technology, finance, and business law, including researching and writing his own patent, Mr. Wilkinson is well-positioned to analyze his clients' industries, business interests and legal needs, and to help them develop a road map for their success. He is skilled in clearly communicating complex legal concepts in a way that enables clients to confidently make the decisions that will best serve them and their companies.

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