Chris grew up in Maryland and attended high school in Norfolk, Virginia. From 1982 to 1987 he attended and then was graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana with a B.S. degree. He attended the University of Dayton School of Law where he received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1991. Mr. Kessler was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in 1992.
Chris has two daughters.
Chris and has family attend Covenant Church in Winterville, North Carolina. Chris is a Christian and he serves the Lord, in part, by offering free Bibles to anyone who asks. For years, Mr. Kessler has been keeping English and Spanish printed Bibles in his lobby - free to everyone.
He started his career as an attorney in 1992 working with Harold F. Greeson in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1995 he moved to Tarboro, North Carolina to practice with Jimmie R. Keel. During his time in Tarboro, the law firm changed to Keel, Kessler & O’Malley, LLP. Chris worked in Tarboro until the end of 2000 when he opened his own law practice in Greenville, The Kessler Law Firm, PLLC.
In 1992, he was admitted in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, and 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Mr. Kessler was admitted in the United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit in 2020.
*During Mr. Kessler's career he has represented injured people at both the trial and appellate court levels. He has settled cases involving the MDL 926 Breast Implant Litigation, Medical Malpractice involving a HIV infected organ transplant, and corporate and private airplane crash cases, all in the early 1990s; Medical Malpractice involving Methotrexate use with psoriasis resulting in settlement in 1995; Medical Malpractice resulting in quadriplegia - a seven figure pretrial settlement against one defendant and a seven figure settlement against another defendant after a three week jury trial in 2000; numerous Greyhound Bus wrecks with multiple clients requiring depositions all over the United States and numerous settlements and a jury verdict between 2000-2013; On the job farming injury causing quadriplegia and resulting in a seven figure settlement in 2015; Product Liability Tire Failure and Failure to Register Tires resulting in multiple injuries and a death, resolved by settlement for seven figures against the Tire Dealer and seven figures against the Tire Manufacturer in 2015; Actos Class Action participation resulting in a settlement in 2015. In 2020, Mr. Kessler obtained a seven figure pre-suit mediation settlement in a wrongful death case where the “black box” data revealed the decedent was speeding; that is, he was contributorily negligent (which usually bars a recovery). He has been a Class Plaintiff co-counsel in numerous cases throughout the United States. He has actively participated in hundreds of depositions and has litigated and/or conducted depositions in approximately 30 states in the United States during his legal career.
Premium Member
Associations
