Profile details
About Timothy Wilkins
Tim is the firm's Global Partner for Client Sustainability and a corporate and M&A partner based in New York.
Tim has advised on a wide range of strategic sustainability issues for clients as well as a series of high-profile cross-border M&A, private equity and joint ventures.
Tim leads Freshfields' global sustainability team, comprised of leaders from the firm's transactional, regulatory and dispute resolution practices, who advise clients on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. He also leads the firm in its partnerships with clients, public policy makers and regulators in their joint effort to tackle the broader range of ESG issues impacting business and society. Tim is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School and speaks widely on sustainability issues at academic and professional conferences.
Tim is active in board service in New York. He is the Chair of the Board of New York Public Radio and previously served on the Board of the New York City Economic Development Corporation as Chair of the Governance Committee, appointed by the Mayor of New York City and the Board of the New York Public Theater, as Co-Chair of the Governance Committee. Tim formerly served as the Vice-Chair of the Legal Services Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, where he worked as an investment banker and lawyer for 11 years.
Tim has been selected five times to the Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives by Empower, ranked #4 for 2022.
Tim speaks English and Japanese.
Recent work
- Advising the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) on financial institutions acting in concert on sustainability issues
- Advising the Generation Foundation, the PRI and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) on the legal framework for institutional investors to invest for sustainability impact
- Advising Hewlett-Packard Company on multiple engagements, including its global business separation, creating two separate publicly traded companies with revenues in excess of $50bn – the largest technology enterprise split in history.
- Advising Zhongwang USA on its $2.33bn acquisition of Aleris Corporation from a consortium of shareholders.
- Advising Zhejiang Geely on its purchase of Volvo Car Corporation for $1.8bn.
- Advising on the sale of Solvay Pharmaceuticals to Abbott Laboratories for $7bn.
- Advising Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) on establishing as a foundation in Switzerland.
Qualifications
Education
- JD, Harvard Law School.
- MBA, Harvard Business School.
- AB, magna cum laude, Harvard College.
Professional
- Admitted to practice in the State of New York.
- Adjunct professor on Sustainability at Georgetown Law School
- Adjunct professor of International Law and International Negotiations at Hunter College.
- Recently lectured at the Japan Society, Harvard, Yale and the University of Chicago on M&A and international law topics.
Service
- Chair of the Board of the New York Public Radio.
- Appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York to serve on the boards of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (executive committee) and NYC Global Partners (president of the board) to further economic growth across all five boroughs and develop partnerships for the mayor’s local-to-global equity agenda. Serves as Chair of Governance Committee of NYEDC.
- Board member of the New York Public Theater.
- Pioneered the firm’s Legal Outreach Program for New York City high school students.
Awards / Recognitions
- 2022 Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives, Highest ranked lawyer at #4, as listed by EMpower and Yahoo! Finance.
- 2021 Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives, Highest ranked lawyer at #16, as listed by EMpower and Yahoo! Finance.
- 2020 Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives, Highest ranked lawyer at #16, as listed by EMpower and Yahoo! Finance.
- 2017 Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives, Highest-ranked lawyer at #11, as listed by EMpower and Yahoo! Finance.
- 100 Leading Ethnic Minority Executives 2016– Highest-ranked lawyer at #16, as listed in the Financial Times.
- Minority Lawyer of the Year 2016, Chambers Diversity Awards, USA 2016.
- CUP Catalyst: Change Agent 2014, The Council of Urban Professionals.
- Atlas 2010 M&A Deal of the Year for Geely’s acquisition of Volvo Car Corporation.
- Ford Foundation Fellowship in Public International Law.
Press mentions
- Law Firms in the ESG Game - Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession
- Will ESG regulation surpass SOX and Dodd-Frank in total cost for companies? - Thomson Reuters Institute
- Freshfields Starts Sustainability Team Led by NY Partner.
- The Disrupters: Making New York’s Cultural Boards More Diverse.
- Mayor de Blasio Appoints New Members to NYCEDC Board of Directors.
- Mayor de Blasio Names Board of Directors of NYC Global Partners.