Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Paralegal Moving on After Jesse James

By Jeannie Sapp Johnston

Merilee Gerth - Former Girlfriend of Jesse James

Merilee Gerth, 44, of Long Beach leads a fairly normal life, especially for someone labeled as the ?ex-mistress? of a celebrity.

She?s a paralegal and a tax preparer, which means it?s a busy time of year for her.

But she made time to go to the Newport Beach medical office of plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Niccole for Mistresses Makeover day on Jan. 12. That event was organized by DD Entertainment, the talent agency that specializes in clients who have had a brush with notoriety.

Gerth is one of its less notorious clients, and she uses her business experience to help its other clients negotiate contracts and establish limited liability corporations for themselves. In the past, her jobs have been at Merrill Lynch, American Funds, Pimco in Newport Beach, and at West Coast Choppers in Long Beach, where she worked for Jesse James, the former husband of actress Sandra Bullock.

She had an affair with James, which played a small role in the destruction of his marriage to Bullock.   Gerth signed on with DD Entertainment to help her ?get through the craziness? of her 15 minutes of notoriety last year when the news of that affair broke. She also sued James for sexual harassment

The experience was unpleasant, she said.

?My kids can Google me? and read about it, she said.

?I didn?t do anything wrong, but all this crazy stuff that wasn?t true was written about me.?

On the positive side, she said, ?I?ve met a lot of interesting and good people through this craziness,? and gotten work through DD Entertainment.

Gina Rodriguez, the agency?s founder, said Gerth?s post-Jesse-James career could include work as a TV personality and as a cast member of a possible reality TV show.

Gerth is more interested in less titillating work, such as filling out tax forms. She focuses on her 11-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter, her dogs, and on ballet, which she practices for fun.

Compared to other clients of DD Entertainment, who range from porn actresses to self-promotional stars of reality TV, ?I have a more boring, quiet life.? Gerth said. ?I?m a behind-the-scenes girl.?

But she says she?s a big fan of DD Entertainment and of cosmetic medicine. She makes a thumbs-up gesture for that.

?If it makes you feel better, go for it,? she said.

On Mistresses Makeover day, she got injections of Botox and facial fillers.

She also consulted with Niccole about how to end the pains caused by breast implants that she got 17 years ago.

?Dr. Niccole thinks something is putting pressure on the nerve,? she said.

He sent her off to get an MRI that would help analyze the problem.

Source: The Orange County Register

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Full post as published by ParalegalGateway Blawg on February 03, 2011 (boomark / email).