Roland Garcia ’86, a founding shareholder of Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Houston office, has an active, successful business litigation and appellate practice. In fact, he recently won a significant copyright case for a local art studio that he argued himself before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Garcia’s journey to Houston began at Baylor University, where he earned a business degree and applied and was accepted into Baylor Law. During that time, he also followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather — both U.S. Marines — by being accepted into officer candidate school, completing bootcamp, and training in the summer at Quantico. He served four years in the Marine Reserves.
However, Garcia’s heart was set on serving by becoming a lawyer, and he realized he would need to work and save money before he could start at Baylor Law School. Shell Oil Co. offered him a job in Houston, and he gladly accepted it.
On his first day at Shell, Garcia met “this lovely lady, Karen Hegland. We went out on a date that weekend… and I never went back to Waco. Shell said they would pay for me to attend law school at night, I found South Texas College of Law, and the rest is history.”
Law school was rigorous, and the schedule was grueling, as he went to law school at night and worked full time at Shell to support his family and pay for tuition. “Since I didn’t know any attorneys, I asked my supervisor at Shell if anyone in the corporate legal department might give me some guidance,” he said.
Soon Garcia received a call from Shell attorney Joe Spalding — his first legal mentor. “I walked into his massive One Shell Plaza office, and he was so friendly, helpful, and encouraging. He gave me great advice on what I needed to do to become a successful lawyer. It was amazing that such a high-level guy would take an interest in helping me. He told me to focus on my grades and work hard and do well, and I did that.”
Garcia was a successful law student and competed in and won one Moot Court Best Brief competition at South Texas Law. Afterward, professors encouraged him to apply for a judicial clerkship with the Supreme Court of Texas. He interviewed and was selected to clerk for now retired Justice Raul A. Gonzalez, the first Hispanic individual to ever be elected to statewide office in Texas.
“He became a mentor to me, and he introduced me to other elected officials and judges,” Garcia said. “We are very close to this day.”
From his parents — neither of whom went to college but worked hard to be the first Hispanic realtors in Corpus Christi — and his mentors, Garcia learned the importance of giving back to the community. “I’ve been fortunate to have great mentors,” he said. “As soon as I got out of law school, I started trying to help young lawyers… particularly people situated like me who have a minority background and may not have had many opportunities.”
One mentoring story is special to Garcia. “A friend introduced me to a single mom who wanted to go to law school,” he recalled. “I helped her pull things together to get into South Texas, checked on her success, and mentored her. She did well, graduated, and became a lawyer in the Beaumont area. Nearly 10 years later, I got a call out of the blue. It was the young lady, thanking me for helping her get started. It was so touching to hear from her. If you just impact one life in a positive way, it’s worth it.”
Throughout his nearly four decades of work in the legal profession, Garcia has carved out time to mentor hundreds of new and aspiring attorneys; to be involved in local and state bar leadership; to be active in politics and the community; to play tennis, snow ski, scuba dive, and hunt; and to spend valuable time with his wife, two children (now 38 and 37), and three grandchildren (9, 7, and 4). He and Karen also raise peacocks, chickens, bees, and monarch and swallowtail butterflies, and “Papa and Nana” create backyard camping adventures and other fun outings for their grandkids.
He and Karen — an IT entrepreneur and consultant — have been married 42 years. Last year, they co-chaired South Texas Law’s successful Centennial Gala that raised more than $750,000 for scholarships, and they funded an endowed scholarship at the law school earlier this year for part-time students.
“Scholarships were critical for my undergraduate and law school education, and I know they are vital for many South Texas Law students,” Garcia said. “That’s one reason I give back and raise money for the law school; I want to open the doors of opportunity for the next generation of lawyers. South Texas made a big difference in my life, and it’s incumbent on me to give back to help others.”
As a mentor, Garcia shares advice he has gleaned from his own mentors and his experience:
“If things don’t seem to be going well or you’re having a tough time, go into high gear and work even harder. Be prepared; I may not be the smartest guy in the room, but no one will outwork me. Build your reputation as a can-do person who will do it right and on time. And recognize that you are in control of your own destiny to a large measure. Whatever you do… working a case or volunteering on a civic committee or bar program or pro bono case… no matter what it is, always do your best. People will remember that, and you’ll be surprised how far that will take you.”
Garcia’s hard work has been visible as he tried lawsuits in state and federal trial courts, and argued appeals in state and federal appellate courts. He has handled many high-profile cases, was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Texas Super Lawyers Magazine, and was noted for receiving a Top 20 Verdict by Texas Lawyer Magazine.
Garcia was the first minority to be elected president of the Houston Bar Association. He also served as president of the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the Hispanic Bar Association, and the Dispute Resolution Center. He was an elected director of the State Bar of Texas. President Barack Obama appointed him to the prestigious Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval Academy. He serves as co-chair of the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Board and on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership, Hermann Eye Fund, and Harris County Hospital District Foundation. He served on the Texas Supreme Court’s Judicial Selection Task Force, Gender Fairness Task Force, and Rules Advisory Committee.
Throughout Garcia’s career, some of his leadership and mentoring opportunities have arisen through his involvement with affinity groups. He helped start a chapter of SomosGT, Greenberg Traurig’s Latino Affinity Group that brings together the firm’s Latino community and allies and provides a forum for all attorneys to make connections, build relationships, and share ideas.
Garcia sees Hispanic Heritage Month as a perfect opportunity to reflect on the challenges facing the Hispanic community, minorities, and women — individuals who historically did not have a seat at the table but are now embraced at law firms more than ever before. “That’s good for the profession, the lawyers, the clients, and the community,” he said.
He emphasized it’s not good enough to say, “‘We hired some Hispanic lawyers.” He recognizes the importance of training, promoting, and retaining lawyers from diverse backgrounds and has been at the forefront of the issue through the Hispanic Bar Association, through GT’s programs, and now on the Greater Houston Partnership’s Racial Equity Committee.
Both Garcia and the Houston office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, were selected by the Houston Business Journal as 2024 Diversity in Business Award honorees, a program honoring organizations and individuals who have shown exceptional commitment to promoting practices that advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace, as well as in business leadership.
“It’s clear that diverse talent, diverse vendors, and diverse leaders add value at every level of an organization and across the community,” Garcia said. “I feel fortunate to live in Houston — a city rich in its cultural history and filled with wonderful people from all backgrounds and walks of life. And I’m thankful to South Texas Law for giving me the opportunity that changed my life and allowed me to give back in so many ways to the law school and the city I love.”
Original source can be found here.