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Forest Michele Wilkerson

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Avvo Rating10
  • La Quinta, CA
  • Licensed for 16 years
  • Free consultation
Forest Michele Wilkerson
Forest Michele Wilkerson
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About Forest

Skilled, effective, and passionate criminal defense.

Forest fights hard for her clients and has tried the full range of criminal cases, ranging from DUI to torture.

Forest graduated from the University of San Diego in May of 2003. After law school, Forest did an extended internship at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, The Netherlands.Following her time in The Hague, she worked as a research and writing attorney for a team defending a notorious MS-13 gang member in a death penalty case where it was alleged that her client took part in the killing of a federal witness. He was acquitted of all charges. She then moved on to the Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia and worked as a research and writing attorney on a variety of cases, including international terrorism cases and tax evasion.  

Forest joined the Law Officer of the Public Defender for Riverside County in 2006. She has now been a practicing attorney in the Coachella Valley for over six years.  She has handled thousands of cases at the Public Defender Office, ranging from municipal code violations to child molestation and rape, all the way to homicide cases.

Forest has tried many criminal cases to jury verdict, with charges as varied as DUI, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, and torture.  She has an extraordinary success rate, having achieved acquittals in well over half of her trials, a rare success rate in a practice area where the other side chooses the charges, can dismiss whatever charges are not supported, and has the entire police force and a team of support staff backing them up.  As a result, Prosecutors know that Forest will fight hard and win every possible count, so they offer her clients the most beneficial offers up-front, without playing games with your time, your finances, or your life. She is a dedicated criminal defense attorney, with a passion, presence and intelligence that will benefit any client. 

 Forest works in any area of criminal defense and accepts cases for negotiation, preliminary hearings, trials, appeals, and will accept research and writing requests for other attorneys practicing criminal defense.  

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Practice areas

OtherChild abuseSex crimeDomestic violenceViolent crime
  1. Violent crime: 20%

  2. Domestic violence: 20%

  3. Sex crime: 15%

  4. Child abuse: 15%

  1. Criminal defense: 15%

    Handled over 5000 cases as a deputy public defender in Riverside County, including homicide, sex crimes, three strikes, firearms charges, assaults, domestic violence, and DUI offenses.

    16 years, 5,000 cases

  2. Family: 10%

    Forest's main focus in Family Law is Restraining Order Defense. She is thorough, aggressive, and she has won all her restraining order hearings.

  3. DUI and DWI: 5%

Languages spoken

English

Contact

Wilkerson & Mulligan

51370 Avenida Bermudas
Suite 1
La Quinta, CA, 92253

Website
http://www.forestwilkersonlaw.com/ 

Resume

License
StateStatusAcquiredUpdated
COInactive200605/13/2021
CAActive200505/14/2021
We have not found any instances of professional misconduct for this lawyer.
Avvo Contributions
Legal answers42
Legal guides4
Awards
Award nameGrantorDate granted
Top LawyerPalm Springs Life Magazine2017
Top 100 Trial LawyersNational Trial Lawyers2016
Top LawyerPalm Springs Life Magazine2016
Nation's Top One PercentNational Association of Distinguished Counsel2015
Top Lawyer, Coachella ValleyPalm Springs Life Magazine2015
Top Lawyer, Coachella ValleyPalm Springs Life Magazine2014
Top Lawyer, Criminal DefensePalm Springs Life Magazine2013
Numerous "Golden Spike" Awards for "Not Guilty" jury verdictsRiverside County Public Defender2008
AmJur - Civil PracticumUniversity Of San Diego2003
Dean's Distinguished Service AwardUniversity of San Diego Law School Dean2003
Work Experience
TitleCompany nameDuration
PartnerWilkerson & Mulligan2013 - Present
AttorneyLaw Office of Forest Wilkerson2013 - 2014
Deputy Public DefenderLaw Office of the Public Defender2006 - 2013
Research and Writing AttorneyFederal Public Defender for the District of Columbia2005 - 2006
Law ClerkUnited Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia2004 - 2004
Associations
Association namePosition nameDuration
National Association of Distinguished CounselMember2015 - Present
California Attorneys for Criminal JusticeMember2012 - Present
California Public Defenders AssociationMember2006 - Present
Education
School nameDegreeGraduated
University of San Diego School of LawJD - Juris Doctor2003
Franklin UniversityBS - Bachelor of Science1999
Legal cases
Case nameOutcome
People v. Torrezdismissal
People v. Carterprobation

Reviews

(18)
5 Star
100%
4 Star
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Review Forest Wilkerson

The Best Possible Outcome

Posted by

The first time I met Forest Wilkerson at the offices of Wilkerson & Mulligan, her sheer energy and focus convinced me I had a good chance to do well with my case if I hired her. She and her Firm worked hard for me from the first day. The communication level was A+- which brought the stress level way down. The negotiation process with the DA took months. It included some plea deals, but with the information her Firm put together from in person interviews with those involved in the case, she felt there could be a better outcome. She made it happen. I was not surprised to hear the words, "Your case has been dismissed." Thanks to Forest and her team at Wilkerson & Mulligan.

Trustworthy, respectable, and they get the job done!

Posted by

Forest and Josh did an awesome job on my case. They went above and beyond what my previous lawyer had done and saved my career. They were always available by phone. They were courteous and paid attention to the details of my case before and after my case was resolved. They were and are nice and ethical individuals and I thank them for that.

Wonderful Experience and Highly Recommended

Posted by

Forest represented me in a DV case and she was there to guide me, support me and most importantly she reached the best resolution for my case by getting me the minimum restitution fines and lowered my charges to lesser counts on the DV charges the DA was attempting to charge me with. Forest even had some of the charges dropped indefinitely so they wouldn't appear on my record. With that said, if you're looking for a successful outcome with a positive experience in the most scariest times of your life in a criminal case or hearing you must consult with her law firm.
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired attorney

Fantastic and thoughtful attorney

Posted by

I contacted Forest after reading reviews. When we met, she was thoughtful, thoroughly explained what would happen should I decide to hire her, and stayed in contact with me throughout the months. I am thankful for her expertise and would highly recommend her.
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired attorney

Horrific Charges for a man that serves All people of all ages in my community

Posted by

My name is Rich and I just faced the most difficult situation that I have ever faced in my entire life, and I have faced many!! I am a 50 year old with a relentless passion to help others in business, community, outreach organizations, or even changing a tire on the side of the road for someone that looks quite capable. I put myself in a situation where I ended up being arrested for a few very serious crimes that would have affected me and my life style for my remaining days to a very disturbing extent. Not only did Forest work relentlessly on my case keeping me informed every step of the way, she represented me confidently and diligently knowing all aspects of all laws pertaining to the crimes in my case. Bringing those to the courtroom against a TEAM of 3 district attorneys with at least 1 other working against me behind the scenes along with a retired nonchalant Judge that held her back from allowing my witnesses to testify in my behalf and not allowing evidence proving my innocence to the Jurists because he was on a schedule to go on vacation, she also decimated a Sergeants testimony to the crime and tore the accuracy of the police report to shreds. This all resulted in a unanimous decision of 12 jurors to come back with a NOT GUILTY plea in my favor. After the delivery of the verdict, we stayed in the hall talking with all of the jurors for a short period and the foreman spoke with us for over an hour. He stated that they knew they were coming back with a not guilty within a half hour but some of that time was spent trying to figure out who the foreman was going to be and bathroom breaks. In the end, the foreman said they spent the next 3 hours trying to prove if there was any guilt at all that had been presented by the district attorneys or the witnesses for the victim including the victim from their testimonies...... They could not. Thank you Forest for helping me at the most dire time of my life and putting in late nights and weekends of work around your awesome husband and daughters. I know you did all that. I would without hesitation put all of my confidence into Forest Wilkerson for any charge that is filed from "THE PEOPLE".......lastly I want to thank "The REAL PEOPLE" that Forest was amazing at picking for my Jury while fighting against a Judge and team of DA's while trying to pick them to get a fair trial! You are the best! Rich
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired attorney

Forest is AMAZING!!

Posted by

Wow what can I say about Forest. Not only was she awesome to deal with, but she fought hand over fist for me. I was in a very bad position being charged with some outrageous allegations. Sat down with forest and she explained my options. Ended up hiring her and she did not disappoint. Had 10 felonies that I was being charged with and not only did she get them all dropped but she did not take any crap and ended up getting them all dismissed before I was even out of my preliminary hearing. Hopefully never need her again but if I do I would come running back.
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired attorney

Potential First Time Offender...Confused, Stressed, and Terrified

Posted by

Forest helped me with what was perhaps the most terrifying experience of my life, At age 48, I was accused of Domestic Violence, facing two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge. Very severe for a first time offender, and I was terrified of the prospect of spending a long time in state prison. Forest was able to ease my fears with her extensive experience with my type of case. Just knowing I had an attorney of this caliber to prove my innocence, was a wonderful feeling. I knew that my case was in the hands of someone who would get things done and prove to the justice department that I was innocent if this horrible accusation. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome, as I was never formally charged with the crime I was accused of. Forest's work prior to the first heating was instrumental in that outcome. Her ability to get through the beaurocracy, and get straight to the DA hanfdking the case, face to face, helped insure I was never charged with a crime. So, thanks to Forests help, i n very had to deal with a lengthy, and expensive, series of courts appearances and possibly even a trial. Forest asked me to desc I e exactly what happened the day I was arrested and what was different about that day, and I couldn't come up with an answer because I knew I had done nothing wrong and that was one of the reasons my confusion and stress was so high. I couldn't answer that question and at first I knew Forest was skeptical about my story, but with time and a better understanding of who the accuser was, Forest knew right away why I couldn't answer that question and that the other person was the problem and not me. From there it was just a matter of time for my innocence to be proven, which was luckily never needed. I owe Forest a lot for taking my case and believing in me eniugh to put me at ease and lower my stress to manageable levels. She helped walk me through what was happening and what would happen and didn't make me feel like a criminal who just needed "reasonable doubt". I would recommend Forest's services to anyone who was in the kind of situation I was in, or for anything she specializes in. My record remains clean today, thanks to Forest's help and that's worth so much more than any fee she could have charged.
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired attorney

Amazing, Professional, Highly Recommend!

Posted by

I can not say enough about Forest. I was blindsided by a very difficult domestic violence case brought on by my ex-wife and our 13 year old daughter. While the accusations were motivated by many other factors regarding my ex wife, I was facing the possibility of not seeing my daughters for 3 years or more...and I had no idea what to do or who to turn to. After reading several other online reviews, I thought Forest was a perfect fit for my case. And I was 100% right. Not only did she absolutely command the court room during our trial, but she did so in a professional and confident manner that could simply not be competed with. And after she laid out the facts in a very clear and concise manner, the judge ruled without question in our favor. Thank you so much Forest, I will forever be grateful!
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired attorney

Best decision

Posted by

After reading online reviews and consulting other lawyers decided to hire Forest. W. And it was the best decision i have made in the last couple of years , she was very helpful and informative she was always there to answer any questions or help solve any issues that came up during the case, even with the DA giving us a hard time she still managed to get me the best deal i could have gotten.She even appeared at court for me after the case was closed at no charge.
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired attorney

Highly Recommended!!!

Posted by

Back in 2012 i was charged with some very serious crimes. Looking at life in prison i met Forest and she went straight to work on my case uncovering the truth and making sure i did not get bullied in the court room. She literally saved my life! Again in 2016 i tried to clean my record and it was proving to be very difficult so i called forest again and with so much on my mind with having a 3 month premature baby in the hospital she put my mind to ease and fought for me in the court room so i could be with my family at this difficult time. I highly recommend forest to everyone i can because your life is not something to gamble with.
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired attorney
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Attorney endorsements

(16)
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Benjamin Schiff, Criminal defense Attorney on Sep 13, 2019
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

Forest is a strong and very effective criminal defense lawyer. As a colleague at the Riverside County Public Defenders office I saw her rise quickly within our ranks because she got the kind of special courtroom results that set her apart from others in the office. She has built a successful private practice in a short period of time in a small community with an abundance of criminal lawyers. Her reputation in the courthouse is impeccable and anyone who gets into legal trouble on any type of criminal matter would be very smart to retain Forest. She's a real fighter who will go to the wall to defend your rights.

Rejeanne Eyre, Criminal defense Attorney on Feb 27, 2017
Relationship: Worked together on matter

Don't let her pretty exterior fool you. If you don't hire Forest, you probably look good in orange. Forest is a force to be reckoned with, inside the court room and out. She is a legal eagle and will research the "you know what" out of every legal case and statute until she has the answer. If your case goes to court, it's sure to be a good time, because Forest will destroy her opponent and have them crying for their mama. Her cross-examination skills are top-notch and she knows no fear. Honestly, I wouldn't hire anyone else and I refer all my clients to her.

Anthony Valente, Criminal defense Attorney on Sep 1, 2015
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

I have had the opportunity to work with Forest and she is an excellent advocate for her clients!

Frederick Carroll, Criminal defense Attorney on Feb 4, 2015
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

Forest is the person you want to hire. Having known her professionally since law school, over 15 years total, I unequivocally endorse her as a knowledgeable, fierce and formidable advocate for her clients. I've personally referred clients to her, with uniformly excellent results. Her attention, ethics and professionalism are second to none. Hiring Forest is a decision that will not be regretted.

Megan Beaman, Criminal defense Attorney on Feb 4, 2015
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

It is my pleasure to work in a legal community where Forest Wilkerson and Joshua Mulligan are defending clients charged with criminal defenses. My work in civil rights often overlaps with these types of cases and client communities, and I feel privileged that Forest and Josh are available to offer guidance to me, and also to serve as a resource and potential attorneys for my clients who need them.

A. Felsen, Violent crime Attorney on Nov 3, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

I endorse this lawyer. Ms. Wilkerson is very knowledgeable and I highly recommend her for your domestic violence and criminal defense!

Shaun Sullivan, Criminal defense Attorney on Oct 29, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

Ms. Wilkerson is polished, knowledgable and professional. She's earned a wonderful reputation among her peers as a no-nonsense trial lawyer that will challenge DA's and even judges when appropriate. I'd feel very confident recommending someone to Ms. Wilkerson.

Shaffer Cormell, Criminal defense Attorney on Dec 28, 2013
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

I endorse this lawyer.

Melanie Roe, Criminal defense Attorney on Apr 10, 2013
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

I have watched this attorney zealously defend her clients' constitutional rights over the past years while she has practiced in Riverside County. I have observed her to be well-versed in the law and fearless in court, exactly the combination which commands respect from her peers and the judiciary.

Raymond Wood, Criminal defense Attorney on Mar 11, 2013
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

I worked with Forest for three years while a deputy public defender and have sought her opinion on legal matters in the years since then. She had- and continues to have- the reputation of an extremely knowledgeable and tenacious attorney and a formidable foe in the eyes of the prosecution. She is widely respected by judges and attorneys alike, and any client would be in very capable hands trusting their defense to Forest. If ever in the position, I would trust Forest with my own defense.

Thomas Hughes, Criminal defense Attorney on Mar 10, 2013
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

Without hesitation, I endorse this lawyer. While I was a prosecutor, Ms. Wilkerson never failed to get the results wanted by her clients, always keeping their best interest first. Today, as a fellow criminal defense attorney, I trust Ms. Wilkerson for any and all matters related to helping anyone through their criminal case.

Jayan Hong, Criminal defense Attorney on Mar 6, 2013
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

Ms. Wilkerson is a trustworthy, fearless and aggressive attorney, who you can trust to get the best possible results for you. I worked alongside her for many years at the Public Defender's Office, and I watched Ms. Wilkerson in action in many cases from minor to very serious crimes. She is highly knowledgeable in criminal law and works extremely hard in aggressively defending her clients.

Daniel Shama, Criminal defense Attorney on Feb 26, 2013
Relationship: Other

I first met Forest in 2000, our first year of law school. I got to know her really well, as she was in my small section, meaning we had all of our classes together. Even back then, I quickly noticed Forest's passion for the law. She had a particular interest in criminal law, defending the rights of the public with energy, conviction, and sincerity. Following law school, I was not surprised to see Forest apply these same virtues to her work as a Public Defender. Working tirelessly for (sometimes) unappreciative clients, I was impressed to see Forest's resolve continue to grow. She is not intimidated by opposing counsel. At the same time, Forest has very strong interpersonal skills. With her signature fearlessness, I am pleased to see Forest embark on her solo practice. I can tell you that her enthusiasm, intelligence, and background make her an exceptional attorney, particularly in criminal defense. I would hire her myself without a second thought.

Thomas Bobzin, Criminal defense Attorney on Feb 26, 2013
Relationship: Worked together on matter

I endorse this lawyer. Her extensive work in the high desert has made her an incredible asset. She is the whole package. She has extensive knowledge of both the strategies and staff of the local D.A.'s office. She has a depth of knowledge from her considerable trial experience. She has a proven record of success, both in trial and in resolving cases for significantly reduced sentences. Most importantly, her communication skills make her approachable, understandable and effective. I would recommend her highly, without any reservations, to any criminal client who is serious about having quality representation.

Joshua Mulligan, Criminal defense Attorney on Feb 25, 2013
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

I endorse this lawyer. I have routinely relied on Forest for advice and help on cases. She has excellent judgment, intelligence, and insight. She really cares for her clients and she fights, and fights hard.

Jennifer Guerrero, Criminal defense Attorney on Feb 24, 2013
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

I endorse this lawyer. Forest is experienced in handling any criminal matter... Misdemeanor or felony... DUI or murder... She has done it all. She fights for her clients and is a true defense attorney at heart.

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