James Wilkes

Jim Wilkes founded Wilkes & McHugh with Tim McHugh in 1985, and the firm was renamed Wilkes & Associates when Mr. McHugh retired in 2019. Under their leadership the firm earned more than $1.5 billion in courtroom verdicts and hundreds of millions in out-of-court settlements, and The National Law Journal recognized it as one of the top firms in the nation for courtroom results. Mr. Wilkes is widely regarded as a pioneer of nursing home abuse and neglect litigation and has been a vocal national advocate for victims of fraud and abuse.

He holds a five-star AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, has been named to The Best Lawyers in America since 2001 and a Super Lawyer since 2006, and was inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He received the 2006 Resident's Rights Award from the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform and the Florida Justice Association's John E. Krupnick Award for Perseverance in 2005. He is admitted to practice in ten states and before the U.S. Supreme Court.