Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Weiss.
Hi Stacey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Briefly is a bit hard. I grew up in NJ. In high school, I was very big into criminal justice. I was determined to be an FBI profiler and study serial killers. I graduated and went on to join ROTC in college and major in criminal justice. However, I had undiagnosed bi-polar depression and soon couldn’t hide the depression any longer.
Right before Christmas my sophomore year, I was suicidal and forced to leave college. I came home, got on medication, thought I was doing great, so went off that medication and decided to buy a hiking backpack, tent, and sleeping bag and buy a one-way ticket to Hawaii. That lasted 3 months before the depression got too bad and had to go back home to start medication again. I lived in NJ for about a year before I decided to move to Las Vegas. I was there for a year and moved back to NJ to be with an ex boyfriend. Lived in NJ around 3 months before I moving back to LV. I was 21 years old at this point.
I went through lots of depression there but loved it the location. That’s where I became a phone sex operator. I lived there another year when I finally realized I was falling in love with my best friend, and now husband, who I met while in college at age 19. I packed up and moved to DE to live with him. We shared our first kiss the day I moved in.
We moved around a bunch, trying to find a state we really liked. We have lived in DE, MD, DE again, MA, and two places in VA over the next 2 years before we were married in 2006. I was 25 years old.
We then moved to Las Vegas again, he’s a chef and we thought that was the best place for him to grow, plus I really loved Las Vegas. That’s where I started my phone sex company, which has been in business for 17 years.
We then moved to WA, DE, back to LV (2 different homes), and started volunteering at two zoos in LV. I believe we spent a combined 8-10 years in Vegas.
In between all this I had taken college classes here and there. Mostly online.
We got 2 coatimundi in 2012. In 2015 we decided we wanted trees and land, so moved to TN. We didn’t like the town we were in so in 2017 we moved to Dover, TN
We started a zoo which ran from 2018-2021, but couldn’t get back to where we were before COVID.
In the summer of 2023, I believe, I picked up an Intro to Law text book and started reading it. I loved it. So I decided to finally finish my degree, this time in legal studies with a focus on paralegal studies.
In 2024, debating if I wanted to go to law school or not, I applied to be an intern with the Public Defneder’s office. I loved it and immediately applied to Nashville School of Law.
I interned for over a year before I got a job as a paralegal in Clarksville, TN. I became a Rule 31 listed civil mediator or the state of TN and start law school early August! My husband I have been together for 24 years and married 19 years. We have 15 cats, 15 pigs, 2 coatimundi, 4 lizards, and 2 snakes, besides chickens and ducks.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a rough go. My bi-polar depression held me back for the longest time. I was suicidal for a while and was manic at others. I’ve been on the same medicine for 20+ years now and you’d have no idea I was bi-polar.
I also have an “undiagnosed,” meaning they can’t figure what is wrong with me, sleep issue. I will almost (because I force myself to be awake) fall asleep while talking to someone, fall asleep while driving long distances (which I do not do after getting into an accident while singing music), fall asleep after reading for 10 mins, or watching a lecture. So it’s a daily struggle. Even typing this, my eyes are shutting down. That’s been my latest issue.
I have also written 7 books.
We’ve been impressed with The Law Office of Dennis Stanford / OYS, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I work for The Law Office of Dennis Stanford where I am a paralegal and his right hand woman. We specialize in family and criminal law. I have only been a paralegal since April, so it’s a constant learning curve.
Our firm tells it like it is, don’t come to us to get things sugar coated. We take care of our clients and go above and beyond.
I also own my phone sex company with my husband still, and he has a little restaurant and country store in Dover, TN
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
For those wanting to go into the legal field who are older, like me (43), when they start, read and watch all you can on what law school is all about, it’s a huge eye opener for sure? If you want to be a paralegal, do the same, study and learn court procedure because that’s the hardest part.
And keep at it! If you love it? You’ll truly succeed.
Pricing:
- Flat rate for criminal and family casss
- Free consults
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Dstanfordlaw.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceylweiss?trk=contact-info
