Cathy Stacey is a new member of the New Hampshire Bar, sworn in on May 25th. She is also the Register of Deeds for Rockingham County, a single mother of three - and a 2004 admittee to the Massachusetts Bar.

Stacey began her odyssey about five years ago. "My desire to attend law school dates back to the late 1980's, but I made no move to achieve that goal until I was almost 40," she said.

In August of 2000 she enrolled in a full-time night program at the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, attending school three nights a week. "I spent all my free time studying," she went on. "My daily regimen began with getting my three children off to school, continued with a full day at the Registry of Deeds and then I would go home, check the kids' homework, get supper on the table-and finally go off to school myself."

On June 4, 2004, Stacey was awarded her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude,from the Massachusetts School of Law-and was sworn into the Massachusetts Bar on June 16. "As a New Hampshire native, however," she said, "it was extremely important to me to pass the New Hampshire bar examination. I am happy to say I succeeded." It was an especially remarkable feat for this multi-tasking mom and law student, as only 50 percent of the candidates taking the test in February passed.

"But I couldn't have done it without my parents; they've been there for me on both a personal and professional level during the past five years-as always!"

Stacey was first elected to serve as Register of Deeds in1994; she has held the post-which is elective every two years-for 11 years. "I don't think I am any more extraordinary than any other mom around," she says. Her children, Kacey, 17, Daniel, 11 and Kathleen, 9, might not agree. "Mom" has managed to stay involved in many ways; she has been a den mother for Cub Scouts and a 4-H judge. She is also on the Board of Trustees for the North Salem United Methodist Church and is president-elect of the New Hampshire Association of Counties, a member of Lions Club International and the Rockingham County Law Enforcement Officers Association.

Stacey will continue as Register of Deeds for the present. "But who knows what the future holds? Who would have thought six or seven years ago that I would have a law degree and be a member of two state bars? I hope others will take some courage from my experience. It's not easy, but you can do it," she said.

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