James Lewis Wilkes, II is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

. Born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, he is known for his advocacy on behalf of

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

residents who have been victims of abuse.

Legal career

Wilkes and his firm Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. gained national recognition for handling nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits. He has been featured in ''People'' magazine, as well as on television shows such as ''Dateline'', ''48 Hours'' and ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...

''. ''Long-Term Living'' magazine wrote that Wilkes could be "described as a 'holy terror' for nursing home administrators everywhere" in an article that named him one of the top 10 most influential people in the industry. In 2017, Wilkes represented comedian

Cedric The Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is ...

in a lawsuit stemming from the

Aliso Canyon gas leak The Aliso Canyon gas leak (also called Porter Ranch gas leak and Porter Ranch gas blowout) was a massive natural gas leak in the Santa Susana Mountains near Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, California. Discovered on October 23, 2015,Sharon McNary ( ...

. He is licensed to practice law in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.

Music industry

Wilkes is also involved in the music industry as a performer and business manager. He launched

Streamsound Records Streamsound Records was an independent American record label specializing in country music artists. It was launched by Byron Gallimore (producer of Tim McGraw, Sugarland, Faith Hill) and Jim Wilkes in 2012. Streamsound Records is based in Nash ...

, along with long-time producer

Byron Gallimore Byron Gallimore (born in Puryear, Tennessee) is an American record producer known for more than two decades of work in the field of country music. He has worked with artists Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sugarland, Lee Ann Womack, and Jo Dee Messina. ...

. Red Vinyl Music was established in late 2010 when long-time producer Byron Gallimore partnered with Jim Wilkes and Tim McHugh. In January 2017, Red Vinyl Music sold the rights to 3,000 songs to Ole. During a 2012 Florida election, Wilkes used his music industry corporations to max out political donations.

Charity

Wilkes donated $100,000 to the relief efforts in Southeast Asia after the 2004 tsunami. Jim Wilkes also serves as a personal mentor and legal advisor to two nationally-recognized sports champions. Wilkes has been an advisor and friend to former

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

super middleweight champion

Jeff Lacy Jeffrey Scott Lacy (born May 12, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2015. He held the IBF super middleweight title from 2004 to 2006, and the IBO super middleweight title from 2005 to 2006. Lacy rose to p ...

and junior middleweight champion Ronald

Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...

.Cotey, John C.
"Fortune Finds Way to Fame"
Section C, Page 1. St. Petersburg Times, August 3, 2005 Wilkes was nominated for the Al Buck Manager of the Year for 2004–2005 by the ''Boxing Writers Association of America.'' He created an advocacy group, The Coalition to Protect America's Elders, now known as Families for Better Care. The group serves as a voice for nursing home residents. The former Executive Director of Families for Better Care was elected to serve as the president of the nation's largest and oldest nursing home resident advocacy group, The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkes, Jim Florida lawyers University of South Florida alumni People from Tampa, Florida Living people Stetson University College of Law alumni Year of birth missing (living people)