Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Lake.
Stacey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
California is known for its big cities and technological innovation hub, Silicon Valley. Victorville, California, where Lawfecta is founded and headquartered, is known for its Wild West history and “singing cowboy,” Roy Rodgers. What most people don’t know is the state has the highest rate of poverty of any state in the country. Victorville is not immune and 1 out of 4 people in Victorville live in poverty
Growing up in Victorville, I was a product of the poverty that affects the region. Life started for me without a father and I was thrust into a world of scarcity. My mother suffered from severe mental illness and epilepsy, which forced me to become a responsible adult from a young age to help care for her. I was graciously taken in by my grandparents, and I was given love, kindness and care. The home we lived in had an overflow of people, and every bedroom housed multiple people, including adults and children. For the first 13 years of my life I slept on the living room floor with at least three other people. When I was 14 years old, I received my first bed.
Around age 16, I started working in a local law office handling minor file clerk projects, like tabbing files and organization. I was very determined to become successful in the legal industry and I worked extremely hard to advance myself. By the time I was 19, I was a certified Paralegal and the office manager of the firm. I was given great responsibility at a young age including handling the management of hiring and maintaining the staff and working on Paralegal duties for up to 50 Family Law cases at any given time.
A few years later, I relocated to east Los Angeles County and became a regular commuter on the 210 to Pasadena. I worked in a virtual law firm whom allowed all the attorneys to work from home, but support staff were not allowed the same. My commute was only 25 miles one way but would last over an hour and half each way. Unfortunately, even though we did a high volume of files, the firm’s budget did not allow for additional Paralegal or paraprofessional assistance. To say the least, I was drained from the commute, overworked and starting to enter the burn out phase.
At the end of 2016, my Grandfather, who was like a dad to me, passed away. This made me take a good hard look at what my life revolved around: 15 hours a week commuting, a lack of appreciation by my superiors for the work I performed and an overall general unhappiness as to where my career leads me. Although my Grandfather only had a middle school education, he was wise and supportive of everything I did. He was a man of great character who always told me growing up that I could do anything I set my mind to, I shouldn’t listen to those who tell me otherwise and to never settle for anything less than greatness in life. His words rang in my ears for months after he passed away and then I started to refocus my efforts on launching my own business to help law firm in-house support staff and attorneys.
Through my struggles growing up and in life, I was determined to make a difference within my local community. I left Los Angeles County for my hometown of Victorville, bought a house and officially launched Lawfecta. I self-funded the start-up and it has continued exponential growth with no outside investors. My company continues to be a 100% minority and woman-owned business. I’m looking to put this small city on the map and help create long-term, innovative and sustainable jobs to combat the 23% poverty rate that strikes the city.
Lawfecta is a technology start-up that is trying to revolutionize an entire industry to change the way they handle working with and hiring their workforce. We provide attorneys and small businesses with virtual senior level administrative services. With an 100% fully distributed workforce in California, our communication and culture are moved outside the boundaries of a physical location so that our Team Members are able to be included wherever they live. Working from the comfort of their own homes or offices, they can continue in their legal careers in an alternate fashion from a traditional 9-5 job. Our business model is forward-thinking with continued growth of employee happiness, and the overall environmental impact and benefits telecommuting offers the state as a whole.
Has it been a smooth road?
Since we are trying to reinvent the way law firms hire their staff, there was no blueprint available for me to follow. Being a self-funded venture meant I needed to be lean with my budget. I had only a small amount of funds available for branding, website design/development and marketing. On a shoestring budget and with the help of some great instructions available on the internet, I learned to fully code a website, develop a searchable resume portal, brand strategize and digital marketing tactics to grow my client base.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Lawfecta – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Lawfecta is a virtual Paralegal, Legal Secretary and Assistant support agency providing attorneys, law firms, and small businesses with high-end administrative support. Our Team has a minimum of 10 years of experience, and business owners work with one dedicated Team Member on an on-going basis in collaborative partnership. Our goal is to free time up for businesses owners to work on high billable or business development projects. We have seen success in our clients being able to have a greater work-life balance while still growing their businesses.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I absolutely love the weather in Southern California. I never want to leave this region because it’s just too perfect.
Pricing:
- Virtual Paralegal services start at $50.00 per hour
- Virtual Legal Secretary services start at $35.00 per hour
- Virtual Assistant services start at $35.00 per hour
Contact Info:
- Address: 15437 Anacapa Road, Victorville, CA 92395
- Website: lawfecta.com
- Phone: 877.852.9332
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/lawfecta
- Facebook: facebook.com/lawfecta
- Twitter: twitter.com/lawfecta
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lawfecta
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