Wilkes Artis, Chartered is the oldest real estate law firm in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. With a team of fourteen attorneys, the firm’s practice is devoted exclusively to real property tax appeals and condemnation litigation.
James C. Wilkes and James E. Artis founded Wilkes & Artis in 1926, initially focusing on zoning, land use, and condemnation law. In 1940, James Wilkes and James Artis partnered with Joseph McGarraghy to form Wilkes, Artis & McGarraghy. Under the new partnership, the firm continued to grow until 1954, when McGarraghy was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
In the 1970s, Norman Glasgow, Sr. became the firm’s president. Under his leadership Wilkes Artis continued to strengthen its position as a leading authority in real estate law across Washington, D.C. This era was defined by a surge of commercial and residential development in Washington, D.C. During this time rapid development kept the firm heavily engaged in zoning matters, and importantly, condemnation cases, driven by the development of the Metro system and Walter E. Washington Convention Center. In response to the glut of condemnation matters, the firm lured Stanley “Stan” Fineman from the Department of Justice to help grow the firm’s condemnation practice. With the completion of the Convention Center and the initial Metro lines the condemnation work began to slow and the lawyers focusing on condemnation matters came to a crossroads in their careers. Using the expertise in valuation litigation they developed during the condemnation boom times, Stan and Jack Baumgartner realized that the rapid real estate growth the region was experiencing would give rise to a similar demand for expertise in real property tax appeals. Over the course of the late 70s and 80s, Stan and a young lawyer named Charles (Chris) Camalier, III grew the property tax appeal practice group from concept to reality.
During the late 80s and early 90s the firm’s tax appeal practice brought on a new generation of talented attorneys, including Ilene Boorman, Stuart Turow, David Fuss, and Eric Kassoff. Ilene and Eric were instrumental in expanding the tax appeal practice areas to Virginia and Maryland. During this period of growth Wilkes Artis cemented itself as the preeminent firm for all manners of real estate law, and by the late 1990s, the firm employed more than 70 full-time attorneys across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. In 1994, Wilkes Artis worked with several other firms around the country to found the American Property Tax Counsel. Wilkes Artis helped grow APTC to 30 member firms with over 100 of the skilled property tax attorneys, ensuring that our clients would have the best possible representation across the US and Canada.
In 2001, Wilkes Artis as it is structured today was formed. Following a strategic shift in focus, the firm’s transactional and land use attorneys moved on to other firms, while the seven property tax attorneys retained the firm’s storied name and built the specialized practice it is known for today. Since then, the firm has grown to 14 attorneys and six real estate analysts who are industry leaders dedicated to ensuring Wilkes Artis delivers the best representation for our clients.
Although the real estate markets and assessment regimes are always changing, our commitment to providing our clients with excellent service and results is unwavering. We are proud of what we have built over the last century and look forward to the next 100 years.