Ronald C. Jessamy

RONALD C. JESSAMY is an active participant in professional, business and civic activities in the District of Columbia. Mr. Jessamy currently serves on the board of the Washington Bar Association (WBA) where, among other influential roles, he serves as the editor of Equal Justice, the newsletter of the WBA. He has been a dedicated member of the WBA and of the Board of Directors for many years. Mr. Jessamy is also a member of the National Bar Association.

Mr. Jessamy serves on the board of the Council for Court Excellence. He is chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr. D.C. Support Group. He also serves on the National Advisory Committee of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation-Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program at Howard University. He is a 1988 graduate of the Leadership Washington program, and served on its board of directors from 1988 to 1991. He served on the board of directors of Greater Southeast Community Hospital, a 450-bed acute care hospital in the District of Columbia, from 1985 through 1991 and was its chair from 1986 to 1989. He served on the board of directors of Fort Washington (MD) Community Hospital, Stoddard Baptist Nursing Home, and the Economic Club of Washington.

Mr. Jessamy has been a voting delegate to the District of Columbia Judicial Conference for over 20 years and served as a member of the Committee on Arrangements for the Conference in 1998. He has been a guest of the District of Columbia Circuit Judicial Conference, and participated as a panelist at one of its sessions. In 1999, Mr. Jessamy was appointed by the judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to chair the Merit Selection Panel for the Reappointment of Magistrate Judge Alan Kay. He is a member of the American Bar Association and also served as a member of the District of Columbia Conference on Opportunities for Minorities in the Legal Profession.

Mr. Jessamy was named as one of Washington, D.C.'s top lawyers in the December 2004 edition of Washingtonian Magazine. He represents clients in civil litigation, administrative and regulatory proceedings and commercial and real estate transactions. He practices regularly before the local and federal courts in the District of Columbia and before local administrative agencies and commissions.

Mr. Jessamy began his legal career as an associate with the firm of Hudson Leftwich and Davenport, where he practiced until 1984 when he left to form the firm of Jessamy Douglas & Fort (later, Jessamy Fort Ogletree & Botts). In 1998, Mr. Jessamy and his partners combined their practice with the highly regarded litigation and real estate firm of Jordan & Keys, LLP to create Jordan Keys Jessamy & Botts, LLP. Recently, Mr. Jessamy established the Law Office of Ronald C. Jessamy, PLLC where he continues to practice law in the District of Columbia.

Mr. Jessamy has served as a hearing agent for the District of Columbia Public Service Commission and has provided services as special counsel to the District of Columbia City Council and the District of Columbia Board of Education. Mr. Jessamy has provided representation to such entities as insurance companies, accounting firms, an electric utility company, national oil companies, financial institutions, governmental agencies, health care organizations (hospitals, nursing homes and health maintenance organizations), nonprofit corporations, churches and a number of minority business enterprises.

Mr. Jessamy is listed in the Martindale-Hubble Legal Directory with an "AV" (very high to preeminent) attorney rating. He has provided instruction in trial practice and has judged moot court competitions at local law schools. Mr. Jessamy frequently speaks at schools, before community groups and participates on programs discussing various legal issues. He has been a speaker at national meetings of such organizations as the American Hospital Association, the American Nurses Association, the National Association of Black Accountants and others. He has also appeared as a guest on the nationally syndicated "Tony Brown's Journal" as well as on other television and radio programs during his professional career.

Mr. Jessamy has contributed articles to various publications during his professional career, one of which is Constitutional Grounds to Challenge State Public Utility Commission Restrictions On Use Of Utility Name and Logo, Public Utilities Fortnightly, July, 1999. Co-authors, Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Karen J. Miller. A partial listing of reported cases in which he has been involved include, Formal Case No. 757 [Cogeneration], D.C. Public Service Commission, 3 D.C.P.S. 359; Gordon v. Raven Systems, Inc. (D.C. Court of Appeals, 1983); Shook v. D.C. Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (D.C. Cir., 1998); Richard Milburn Alternative Public Charter School v. Cooper-Cafritz, et al. and World Public Charter School v. D.C. Board of Ed. (D.C. Court of Appeals, 2002).

Mr. Jessamy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970 from Howard University and a Juris Doctor from the George Washington University National Law Center in 1973. In 1975, he attended the National Institute of Trial Advocacy's training course in Boulder, Colorado. He is admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia.