About Kelly
Kelly Jesson built a legal path that crosses state lines and courtroom doors. She began her academic journey at Peace College, continued at North Carolina State University, and earned her law degree from the University of Miami School of Law. The mix of southern and Floridian training shaped her early interests in ethical practice and appellate work.
While at Miami, she worked inside the law school as a Professional Responsibility & Ethics Program Fellow in 2012. That role followed a summer internship with the Department of Justice in 2011 and preceded a term as a judicial law clerk to the Florida Third District Court of Appeal in 2013. Those placements gave her a close look at appellate procedure, judicial decision-making, and the contours of professional responsibility.
After clerking, she moved into private practice. In 2015 she joined Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman as a litigation associate. The position put her into civil litigation rooms and case preparation. Over time she transitioned into private practice leadership and now serves as a partner at Jesson & Rains, PLLC, where she practices from offices that represent clients in both Florida and North Carolina.
Her professional life has also included sustained bar and community involvement. She served as vice chair of the Solo/Small Firm Section of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association for 2018–2019 and remains active in that organization. She sits on the board of Women Lawyers of Charlotte and participates on the Corporate Sponsorship Committee for the National Association of Women Business Owners. Outside the bar, she volunteers with Wills for Heroes.
Those roles reflect an interest in the institutions that shape practice as much as the cases themselves. Her résumé combines appellate work, a DOJ summer internship, a law school fellowship in ethics, and years of litigation experience. The result is a practitioner equally familiar with courtrooms, courthouse procedure, and the ethical rules that govern lawyers’ conduct.
She is admitted to practice in Florida and North Carolina and divides her time between the demands of litigation and the responsibilities of running a small firm. Her current practice focuses on litigation and professional responsibility matters.
