Judge Wheeler was appointed to the United States Court of Federal Claims on October 24, 2005. He received his Juris Doctor Degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1973, and his undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1970. From 1973 to 2005, Judge Wheeler was in private practice in Washington, D.C. He was an associate and partner in the law firm of Pettit & Martin until 1995, and then moved as a partner to the law firm of Piper & Marbury, later to become known as DLA Piper. Judge Wheeler specialized in Government Contract claims, litigation, and counseling, representing a wide variety of clients before agency boards of contract appeals, the Court of Federal Claims and its predecessors, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Government Accountability Office.