HARRISBURG (April 27, 2011) -Thomas G. Wilkinson Jr., a shareholder in the law firm of Cozen O'Connor, will become President-elect of the Pennsylvania Bar Association at the conclusion of the organization's Annual Meeting May 6 in Philadelphia. Wilkinson will become president of the 28,000-member state legal professional association in 2012.

Wilkinson is a former Zone One Governor representing Philadelphia lawyers on the PBA Board of Governors. He is a past chair of the PBA Civil Litigation Section and the PBA Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee and past co-chair of the PBA Lawyer Advertising Task Force Implementation Committee.

He is a member of the PBA Alternative Dispute Resolution, Appellate Advocacy, Editorial, Federal Practice, Legal Services to the Public, and Professional Liability committees. He also serves in the PBA House of Delegates. Wilkinson is a past president of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and is a life member of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation.

Wilkinson is a past co-chair of the State Civil Litigation Section and the Rules and Procedure Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and has served on its Board of Governors. He is a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Professional Guidance and Professional Responsibility committees. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Villanova University School of Law and has served in various leadership capacities with the law school's Inn of Court.

Wilkinson is a member of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Practice in the Philadelphia office. A frequent lecturer and author on civil litigation and professional responsibility topics, Wilkinson is the co-editor of the Pennsylvania Ethics Handbook, a comprehensive review of the rules of conduct governing lawyers.

Wilkinson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of New Hampshire and the Villanova University School of Law, where he was the managing editor of the Villanova Law Review.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 28,000 lawyers who are members of the association.