John Wilkerson finds legal niche in Municipal League
November 19-25, 2018
By Becca Bona
Born and raised in Conway, John Wilkerson never strayed too far from his roots.
“I went to Conway High School, to the University of Central Arkansas, and then to the William H. Bowen UA Little Rock School of Law,” he says with a smile, “I didn’t venture too far, but it’s nice here. I was very lucky to grow up in Conway.”
He credits his roots in understanding a lot around him and the municipal issues common with his work.
Wilkerson also didn’t know that he would practice law, and in fact, had dreamed of becoming a doctor. Unfortunately for him, the math required wasn’t his forte – but he knew he still wanted to pursue a graduate degree.
Law school made sense because he had a knack for putting puzzles together and law, in essence is just that: putting arguments together with pieces of a story. After graduating from UCA, Wilkerson decided to work on a political campaign before he headed to law school.
He worked on a municipal campaign involving gay rights in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
“The city council passed an ordinance that said that if you work for the city and you had a domestic partner and you passed away then your domestic partner would get your benefits – like a straight, married couple,” he explained. “And then I’d say the right wing – that’s not a negative connotation, just those on the other side – fought against it. So I fought against, the fight against the repeal of the ordinance.”
It might not have been obvious to Wilkerson yet, but he had already found his niche – working with government on the local level. He truly enjoys analyzing complex, relevant issues, but on top of that – has a desire to make a true difference in his community as well as a larger arena.
“You can actually make a difference with these narrow issues... I got drawn to local government and I’m still drawn to local government because of it. It’s where the rubber meets the road as far as government goes,” he explains.
He came back to Little Rock in 2002, and worked on a campaign with the Democratic Party. Shortly after, he became the President of the Young Democrats of Arkansas (YDA) and continued on to law school. His experience with the YDA created lifelong friendships and helped him hone the skills he’d need later to be a litigator.
As a law student, he clerked in the prosecutor’s office in Saline County, and he learned extremely important people skills there as well.
“Actually one of the best life skills that I learned, came from my work there,” he says. People weren’t quick to offer reasons for their actions, so Wilkerson learned to ask them what the other people involved with the altercation would say.
“That comes in handy – that question right there, that changes everything,” he says, laughing.
Wilkerson soon found his niche when he began working with the municipal league in his last year of law school. Since then, he’s stayed on, rising through the ranks over the past 13 years from law clerk to current General Counsel.
The Arkansas Municipal League (AML) dates back to 1934 and exists as a risk pool for all the cities and towns involved to receive certain services. This includes healthcare for city workers as well as legal help when a city is sued.
“[I]t’s more of the legal analysis of all the things that happen to cities on a day to day basis,” Wilkerson explains. “It’s not just litigation anymore.”
These days Wilkerson serves as General Counsel, which means he’s responsible for managing the legal defense program.
A current, familiar example of when the municipal league might come into play includes officer involved shootings. The good thing is that the city can chose or not to be involved in the first place, as Wilkerson says – “We only take a case if the city has said we want you to defend us. Sometimes the city will say no.”
Wilkerson staunchly believes that everyone deserves fair representation, even on such an emotionally charged issue. “Part of the reason that I like it is that I get to be in the middle of a very complicated and timely issue,” he says.
Wilkerson also relishes that he gets to be transparent. For instance, there was a situation in Northern Arkansas where something passed and the citizens weren’t sure why. “Since we’re the government we’re open – and I enjoy that we’re open,” he says. Referencing that particular situation in Northwest, he says, “I thought you know what let’s have city council meeting, and invite everybody there and I’ll take questions from the audience and explain why we did this and I’ll listen to everybody and that really helped a lot to get that situation solved.”
Ultimately, Wilkerson is an attorney the state can be proud of; he’s polished himself in every position he’s taken which helps him to be an even better attorney. Whether seeking transparency, fairness or the actual facts of a case, he’s serving those around him well by picking up skills from all life experiences.
When not he’s working, Wilkerson enjoys spending time with his wife Zara Abbasi and his three kids, Razik Lennon, Amila Marseille, and their newest baby, Merah Brontë.
