You could easily call Leah Wise a modern-day Renaissance woman. The lawyer, clothing-line owner, real estate investor, and advocate hit the ground running when she graduated with her Juris Doctorate in 2016 — and hasn’t stopped since. Founding Leah Wise Law Firm the same year she graduated, Wise kicked off a career that has proven to be as multifaceted and dynamic as she is herself.
Since opening Leah Wise Law Firm, Wise has also created her own clothing company, CrashGal Couture, invested heavily in real estate, and started Wise Women Foundation, a non-profit that aims to support the education of women of color. In addition to those ventures, she is the co-host of “What You Don’t See,” a podcast that provides valuable knowledge and advice to young Latinas.
Everything Wise has done in her career and advocacy seeks to empower others — especially Latinas. Here’s a look at how Wise is redefining the meaning of success for female entrepreneurs and how her bold moves in business empower others to follow their dreams.
An entrepreneur and an advocate
Wise hails from the Texas-Mexico border and has been practicing law for seven years, but she has always been passionate about helping clients in the personal injury space. She started her own firm on a barebones budget, taking to social media to grow her marketing when the free platforms were her only advertising option.
People immediately connected with the young, vibrant lawyer. Soon, her distinction as the first 100% Latina-owned personal injury law firm in South Texas earned her rave reviews and an ever-expanding roster of clients.
However, Wise has such varied interests that she wasn’t content just running her successful firm. “There’s more to me than being just a lawyer,” she told the Lawyers Tell All podcast. In 2022, Wise opened CrashGal Couture, following her passion for fashion. Today, the online shop offers everything from stylish basics to workwear.
Along with law and fashion, Wise has also entered the advocacy and non-profit space by founding the Wise Women Foundation to inspire Latinas to be successful in various industries. In 2022, Wise sponsored the Leah Wise Latina Student Hardship Fund at the St. Mary’s University School of Law, which pledges $50,000 to help Latina law students realize their dreams in the legal profession.
From strip club to business hub
With law, fashion, and philanthropy taking up much of her time, who would have thought Wise would have the extra bandwidth to jump into an interesting real estate transaction? Yet, she did just that by purchasing the most unlikely building for a future law office: a strip club.
In the spring of 2023, Wise purchased Xoticas Gentlemen’s Club, a former strip club in South Texas that offered 11,000 square feet of prime real estate. “One day, as I was driving home from work, I saw a ‘for sale’ sign on Xoticas,” Wise explains. “I thought it was a great location!”
Wise plans to turn the Xoticas space into a beautiful place where clients feel comfortable walking in. She hopes that renovating the space will stand as a testament to the power of women in business.
“I want to do something that mostly men had done for so long. Whether you’re a lawyer, a dancer, or a doctor, there’s always going to be people, especially men, who will try and thwart your success,” Wise told Valley Central News. “I hope that my story is inspirational and reflects that women, especially minority women, can do anything that men do.”
With her new headquarters slated to open in December 2024, Wise is energized for the future. For her, industry disruption can be a positive thing, and she intends to continue positively impacting her chosen industries whenever possible.
