Kelly Rains Jesson
AREAS OF PRACTICE
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Kelly focuses on estate planning, probate administration, and business law. She is a seasoned litigator and has tried numerous cases.
Kelly was named to the North Carolina Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers for Estate Planning every year from 2018-2022, and was named a Super Lawyer in the Estate Planning category for 2024. The Super Lawyer recognition is reserved for the top 5% of practicing attorneys who are over 40 and have been practicing for more than 10 years. She was also named to Business North Carolina Legal Elite for Tax/Estate Planning category every year from 2019-2024. Less than three percent of all practicing attorneys in the state were selected as Legal Elite. In May of 2023, The Charlotte Chapter of NAWBO, National Association of Women Business Owners, named Kelly Woman Business Owner of the Year. This award is presented to a member who has demonstrated strong leadership skills in growing and managing a successful business that is more than five years old. Prior to joining Jesson & Rains, PLLC, she represented local governments and businesses in matters ranging from personal injury suits in state court to discrimination, police liability, and other constitutional law claims in federal court. Kelly served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Angel A. Cortiñas of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal in Miami. In law school, Kelly was very involved with professional ethics and public service programs. She was the recipient of a position in the highly competitive Department of Justice Honors Intern Program, where she worked in the Professional Responsibility Advisory Office. Kelly volunteers through the NCBA's "Wills for Heroes" program, drafting testamentary documents for firefighters and police officers, and accepts periodic pro bono cases through the Mecklenburg County Bar Association's pro bono program. Kelly is originally from North Carolina and worked as a paralegal in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina for several years before entering law school. She is also a former dance teacher. PUBLICATIONS Jan L. Jacobowitz & Kelly Rains Jesson, Fidelity Diluted: Client Confidentiality Gives Way to the First Amendment & Social Media in Virginia State Bar, ex rel. Third District Committee v. Horace Frazier Hunter, 36 Campbell L. Rev. 75 (2013) (cited with approval in ABA Comm. on Ethics & Prof'l Responsibility, Formal Op. 480 (2018)). SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS Documenting Long-Term Care, Incapacity and End-Of-Life Decisions NBI Seminar: Estate Planning From A to Z, December 2017 Estate Planning & Probate Primer—What You Need to Know to Help Your Clients North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants 79th Annual Symposium, November 2018 |
