After serving a two-year term as
law clerk to
James R. Browning, Chief Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Wilson started working as an attorney at
Cravath, Swaine & Moore in 1986. He became a partner at the firm in 1991 and spent 30 years as a litigator there. Wilson was nominated as an associate judge of the
New York Court of Appeals by Governor
Andrew Cuomo on January 15, 2017 and was confirmed by the
New York State Senate on February 6, 2017. On March 24, 2023, Wilson was selected as a finalist under consideration for appointment to the New York Court of Appeals, this time for the position of chief judge following the retirement of Chief Judge
Janet DiFiore and the subsequent rejection of Justice
Hector LaSalle's nomination to that seat by the New York State Senate. On April 10, 2023, Governor
Kathy Hochul announced Wilson's nomination for Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. On April 18, the
New York State Senate confirmed Wilson as Chief Judge by a vote of 40–19. Wilson was sworn in as chief judge on September 12, 2023. He is the first African-American to serve as chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. According to
Reuters, Wilson "is viewed as a liberal and has issued rulings favorable to civil rights, unions and criminal defendants". Professor Vincent Bonventre of Albany Law School has stated that Wilson is "known for his intellectual heft and his dissents, which often oppose the government and business interests". Wilson has described himself as a "progressive pragmatist". ==Personal life==