The Life and Career of Beth Wilkinson two time awar winner of the Justice Department of the Exceptional Service Award

In spring 1997, Beth Wilkinson was a special attorney and part of the team that successfully prosecuted Oklahoma City bombers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. For her work, she became one of the few two-time recipients in the history of the Justice Department of the Exceptional Service Award, the attorney general's highest honor. A year later, she left the government workforce. Today Wilkinson, 41, is cochair of the white-collar crime group in the Washington, D.C., office of Latham & Watkins. She talked to Jungle Law about how her experience inside the Beltway has helped her in the big-firm world.

Jungle Law Public opinion was on your side in the Oklahoma bombing trials. Did that help you?


Beth Wilkinson I don't think that influenced the prosecutors much. What really influenced our confidence was that we thought we had fabulous evidence. There had been a really thorough and extraordinary effort by the FBI to investigate the case, and we thought we had done an excellent job preparing for trial. That led our confidence when we started the case, and that carried us through to the end.

JL The McVeigh and Nichols cases seemed open-and-shut. Did you ever doubt you'd win?

BW Nothing shook my faith in the cases. I knew these guys were guilty. But in high-profile cases, it's never as easy as people think. McVeigh and Nichols were indicted as the O.J. Simpson case was winding down. There was a lot of concern on the government's part that although there was overwhelming evidence, there could be a backlash from the jury and the public in challenging that evidence. There were also allegations around that time about whether the FBI lab was handling evidence properly in this and other cases. We confronted these issues that could have inhibited or damaged our ability to try the cases the way we thought we should and get the verdicts we thought were justified.

JL What impact did the trials have on you personally?

BW I will forever be transformed by the experience. I got to know the victims- the survivors and the family members who lost loved ones in the bombing. There was one woman who testified in the penalty phase of the trial about losing her husband and how her grandson was traumatized by the loss. Part of her grandson's therapy was to write notes to his grandfather on balloons and then release the balloons into the air as his way of communicating with his grandfather. I have the utmost respect for the dignity of the people who suffered losses and how they conducted themselves throughout a very difficult time.

JL Why did you leave at what was arguably the height of your public-service career?

BW After two and a half years on the Oklahoma case, emotionally I was drained. It was a good time to get out. Joe Hartzler, the lead prosecutor, always seemed so balanced and reasonable- and he was very insightful about what the defense would do. I saw that to be a result of his having been both a prosecutor and a defense attorney. I decided I needed that other experience to balance myself as a lawyer. If you want to be a good attorney, especially if you're interested in litigation, it's invaluable to have been on both sides. I think I'm much better now at understanding the possible avenues of attack against a client and the possible defenses. I have a much better understanding of the impact and magnitude of work involved in responding to a subpoena, for example. I don't think I fully appreciated what producing those documents involves and the burden it places on the defense.

JL Ever miss being a prosecutor?

BW It was very personally satisfying. I was part of a team that wanted to do the right thing, especially on the McVeigh and Nichols cases. But what I'm doing now is also very satisfying. As a woman especially, it's rewarding to earn money and provide for the education of my son and have my independence. That's something I think people underestimate.