Perkins Coie Appoints Roger Wilkes as Chief Operating Officer

Will Lead Operations Helping Serve Clients at Forefront of Technological Innovation

SEATTLE and NEW YORK (October 11, 2023)—Perkins Coie has appointed Roger Wilkes as its new chief operating officer (COO) with responsibility for the firm's business services focused on helping serve clients at the forefront of technological innovation.

Roger has deep experience in the global professional services industry and in leading successful strategic initiatives and business transformation. He joins Perkins Coie from Kobre & Kim in New York, where he has served as COO since 2019 during a period of high revenue growth. Prior to that, Roger was the COO for US Marketing and Sales at the global Big Four firm PwC, where he led major transformation initiatives for an over 1,000-person team for a decade. He replaces Perkins Coie's long-serving COO Steve Hedberg.

"Roger is a high-performing and collaborative business leader who will help further elevate our position as a trusted advisor to the world's most innovative companies and industry leaders," said Bill Malley, Perkins Coie's firmwide managing partner. "As a member of our Management and Executive committees, Roger will play a key role in our strategic growth as AI and other emerging technologies revolutionize the global economy and the delivery of legal services."

Roger will oversee all of Perkins Coie's business functions, including finance, marketing, diversity and inclusion, talent and recruitment, information technology, and real estate, across 20 offices throughout the United States and Asia.

"We're excited to welcome a business executive of Roger's caliber to the firm and know that his results-oriented and entrepreneurial record will benefit our expanding national presence," said Katie O'Sullivan, the chair of Perkins Coie's Executive Committee. "I am confident that Roger will also be an inspiring, inclusive, and effective leader for all our lawyers and business professionals."

Perkins Coie has expanded rapidly in recent years, including in New York and Texas, amid increased client demand for its legal counsel. The firm received its highest ever Chambers USA rankings this year with 26 practice and industry areas ranked as Band 1 and 194 lawyers individually recognized as leaders in their fields. Perkins Coie has been recognized as one of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For®" for 21 consecutive years and ranked as the number one national law firm on Seramount's 2023 "Best Law Firms for Women and Diversity" list.

"I'm thrilled to join a firm with such a strong reputation for professional excellence and client service," said Roger. "Perkins Coie was also very attractive to me because of its commitment to innovation in the delivery of legal services and its dedication to fostering an inclusive workplace culture for all its lawyers and business professionals. I'm impressed by the level of investment the firm has made in new technologies, such as generative AI, to stay on the cutting edge of client solutions."

Roger holds an MBA from St John's University, Peter J. Tobin College of Business, and a BBA in accountancy from Baruch College, City University of New York.