A. Kelly Sessoms, III, a partner at Wilkinson, Williams, Bosio & Sessoms, PLLC, has been sworn in as the 121st President of The Mississippi Bar. Chief Justice Michael Randolph administered the oath of office July 9 at the Bar’s Annual Meeting in Biloxi, and Sessoms will serve until July 2027. The Mississippi Bar is composed of nearly 9,000 active members who are licensed to practice law in Mississippi.
Kelly is a partner with the law firm of Wilkinson, Williams, Bosio & Sessoms, PLLC, and practices in the firm’s Pascagoula office. Admitted to The Mississippi Bar in 1992, Kelly concentrates on civil litigation in state and federal courts primarily defending corporations and individuals. His areas of practice include insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, commercial litigation, employment law, education law, and products liability.
Kelly received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Georgia in 1989 and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1992. While in law school, he served as Associate Editor of the Mississippi Law Journal as well as Editor of the Journal of Space Law. He was a member of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.
Kelly served as President of The Mississippi Bar’s Young Lawyers Division from 2004-2005. He received the award for Outstanding Young Lawyer of Mississippi (2001-2002). Kelly has served as Secretary-Treasurer and as President of the Jackson County Bar Association, and he previously served as the President of the Jackson County Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. He is a member of the Fellows of the Young Lawyers Division. In 2020, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and recently served as a Foundation Trustee for the Southern District.
Kelly served on the Mississippi Board of Bar Commissioners from 2003-2006 and recently chaired the Bar’s Resolutions Committee and Access to Justice Committee. In addition, he has served on the Bar’s Local Affiliates Committee, Client Relations Committee, Membership Services Committee, Military Affairs Committee, Delivery of Legal Services Committee, and on the Committee on Professional Responsibility (2008-2011). As a member of the Litigation Section, he served as Chairman in 2016-2017.
Kelly is a member of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association and acted as a director from 2009 through 2011. He is also a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel. He is a member of the National School Attorneys Association, having practiced education law and represented the Pascagoula-Gautier School District for more than 30 years. He previously served as a Director for the Mississippi Council of School Board Attorneys. Kelly is also a member of the American Inns of Court, Russell-Blass-Walker Chapter, and served as Treasurer from 1999-2000 and President from 2009-2010.
In his local community, Kelly has served as the President of the Pascagoula Kiwanis Club and currently is a member of the Pascagoula Rotary Club. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce from 2014-2015. He was honored to preside as Board Chair of the United Way of Jackson, George, and Greene Counties from 2021 through 2024.
Kelly is the board attorney for a credit union on the Gulf Coast. He is also a long-time supporter of Mission Mississippi, having served for many years on its local steering committee. An Eagle Scout, he supports the Pine Burr Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and served as a District Commissioner.