He was in private practice in New Philadelphia from 1908 with his brother, David R., and his father,
J. Foster Wilkin, under the name Wilkin and Wilkin. In 1912, his brother moved to
Cleveland, Ohio, and his father was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, and he continued the firm as
Wilkin and Fernsell He was a member of the Judicial Council of Ohio from 1932 to 1933. He was a justice of the
Supreme Court of Ohio in 1934. He was counsel to the
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District in Ohio from 1935 to 1939.
Federal judicial service On May 19, 1939, Wilkin was nominated by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio vacated by Judge
Samuel H. West. Wilkin was confirmed by the
United States Senate on June 1, 1939, and received his commission on June 3, 1939. He assumed
senior status due to a certified disability on August 31, 1949, serving in that capacity until his death on February 23, 1973. ==Personal life==