Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Moss.
Hi Stephanie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Since I was five years old, I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer. I honestly don’t know where it came from! Maybe a television show or a book. I was an avid reader as a child but I didn’t personally know lawyers. I loved to read and I loved to learn. I grew up in Memphis, TN. For the most part, every school I attended was comfortable, every teacher I met felt like family and looked like me. My older cousin, Dewayne, was the first person I knew that went to college. He chose Tennessee State University so I followed in his footsteps. I didn’t know the first thing about financial aid or FAFSA but I figured it out pretty quickly. I was ecstatic to have chosen an HBCU because again… HOME! Tennessee State embraced me. I was enriched deeply by experience there and I had a blast in the meantime. I was deeply focused on my studies but I had no idea what it would take to be accepted into law school.
*Enter the LSAT* Every law student admitted into law school must overcome the law school admission test. There is nothing I encountered that could prepare me for that. The logic games looked like calculus to me and standardized tests gave me anxiety. My LSAT scores were mediocre at best. I took the LSAT twice and scored a 142 both times.
It wasn’t until I learned that law schools look at more than just the numbers that I believed I had a shot. I began vigorously working on my personal statement. In that personal statement, I was simply MYSELF and it worked. After about three years after receiving my bachelor’s degree in political science and 15-20 rejections an amazing diversity counselor at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts wanted me. Something about my story resonated with admissions and I was selected out of a couple thousand applicants.
Law school was grueling. There was a handful of students that looked like me. But the beautiful thing that came along with this is we were friends! We looked out for each other. We studied together. I was no longer “home” but I became the best version of myself in Boston. There was no one to coddle me. I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew in order to succeed and I did. Suffolk University shaped me into the lawyer that I am today. I was educated by some of the most brilliant professors in the Northeast. I’m confident in saying Harvard has nothing on us!
I relocated to Atlanta, GA after law school. The harsh winters and lack of melanin was okay for a while but I knew the south was where I wanted to be. Memphis was a bit too slow for my taste but I knew that Atlanta would be the happy medium I needed. It was just southern enough and just the perfect amount of metropolitan.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The mental challenges were the most difficult. Understanding what I was capable of was also a huge feat. Positive thinking was the key to my ability to overcome. The ability to be confident was something that I had to practice. The true belief that I belong in this industry even though the statistics say otherwise. The road to this point was everything but smooth but a positive mindset carried me through.
The bar exam was the most difficult part of my law school career. Right before the last semester of law school, I was a gunshot victim in a home invasion and lost my boyfriend at the time. While most of my peers were preparing to study for one of the hardest exams one could take I was totally and fully consumed with grief. I graduated on time, six months later but missed the mark when it was time to take the exam.
I took it again, immediately after and failed. I was attempting to work and study at the same time and it simply did not work.
By the third time, (one year after law school graduation) sacrifices had to be made so I quit my job. This presented its own set of financial challenges but my undivided attention is what it took and I finally passed!
Before I had even been sworn in I received my first job offer at a bankruptcy firm. Unfortunately, after one year I learned that this firm was not for me. My white counterparts made substantially more than I and some of the other black attorneys as well.
When it was time to be reviewed annually, I learned that this was a dead end job that paid on a scale that was antiquated and quite frankly racially biased. I didn’t want to leave my fate in the hands of a company like that so I left and followed my entrepreneurial dreams. I fell in love with closing real estate transactions and the freedom that accompanied it. Shortly thereafter, I started my own firm. I doubled and then tripled my salary on my own terms and it is one of my greatest accomplishments of my life.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Moss Law Group. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Moss Law Group, represents clients needing assistance with business entity formation, trademark law, negotiations, contract drafting and review, real estate, simple litigation, asset recovery and all things intellectual property.
The thing that sets me apart from the majority of professionals in my field is that I look like the people I represent and I understand them. The music, the pain, the black experience as a whole is something that I am fully aware of. Most importantly, I care. Surprisingly, some of the attorneys who look “the part” don’t really care whether their clients win or lose as long as they earn. Fortunately for my clients, I am micro-focused on the details and work for my clients around the clock because I truly care about the outcome of their case.
I am most proud of being a double minority owned firm in a white male dominated industry.
I want the readers to know that I am here for them! As a small business owner myself, I know what it feels like to be on a budget and start small. I want to protect their ideas and make sure that they have legal counsel that they can afford.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success, to me, is the ability to surpass the goals you set for yourself consistently and the ability to live life on your own terms.
Contact Info:
- Email: smoss@mosslawgroup.com
- Website: mosslawgroup.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/theentreprelawyer
