Keith Wilkes, Attorney, Tulsa

Keith focuses his practice on representing public and private entities in all areas of Labor and Employment law, Civil Rights law, as well as providing mediation services in civil disputes. In addition to being a seasoned first-chair trial attorney, Keith also serves as an Administrative Law Judge for the State of Oklahoma, hearing cases before the Oklahoma Department of Labor.

Keith regularly provides counseling and preventive training for employers in all areas of labor and employment law, to include best practices, compliance, internal investigations, policy development and implementation, and employment contracts. He has extensive experience defending employment discrimination and labor charges, wage and hour disputes, wrongful discharge claims, class and collective action matters, and civil rights cases before federal and state courts in Oklahoma, California, Missouri and Texas, as well as before the United States Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, National Labor Relations Board, United States Department of Labor, Oklahoma Department of Labor, the former Oklahoma Human Rights Commission, and the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Board.

Keith has an AV Preeminent peer rating through Martindale-Hubbell, and is recognized as both a Best Lawyer in America in Employment Law-Management, and as a Super Lawyer in Labor and Employment Law. Keith is an award-winning legal author on the topic of the interaction between federal employment and state workers compensation laws, and he taught undergraduate Human Resources Law I and II courses as a part-time adjunct instructor for nine years. Keith served as Chairman of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, and has served on multiple committees for the Tulsa County Bar Association over the past 25 years.

Education

University of Tulsa College of Law (J.D., 1995)
- Editor, Tulsa Law Review
- Phi Delta Phi Honorary Legal Fraternity
Oklahoma State University (B.S. in Broadcast Journalism (News & Public Affairs), 1989)

Admissions

Oklahoma, 1995
Oklahoma Supreme Court
U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of Oklahoma
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court

Practice Areas

Legal Experience

2018-Present Hall Estill
2000-2018 Newton, O'Connor, Turner & Ketchum
1995-2000 Rhodes Hieronymus

Specialty Areas

Civil Rights Law

Community Involvement

Board of Governors, Summit Club of Tulsa
Board of Directors and Past Chairman, Owasso Chamber of Commerce
Life Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars
Past President, Rotary Club of Owasso
Past Member, Owasso Character Council

Professional Involvement

Member, American Bar Association (Litigation and Employment Law Sections)
Member, Oklahoma Bar Association (Past Chairman, Employment Law Section)
Member, Tulsa County Bar Association (Employment and Fee Dispute Arbitration)
Member, Federal Bar Association
Member, Defense Research Institute
Member, American Inns of Court, Council Oak Chapter

Military Service

Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars (served behind the Iron Curtain in then occupied West Berlin, and later at the National Security Agency)

Teaching/Lecture Experience

Adjunct Professor, Tulsa Community College, Human Resources Law I & II (2001-2009)

In the News

Keith A. Wilkes Shareholder

Education

Admissions