Profil
Roland Garcia has tried lawsuits in state and federal trial courts, and has argued appeals in state and federal appellate courts. He has handled many high profile cases and has been quoted regarding these cases by The National Law Journal, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Austin-American Statesman, Corpus Christi Caller Times, Texas Lawyer, Law360 and others. Roland is recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Texas Super Lawyers Magazine. He has also been listed as receiving a Top 20 Verdicts by Texas Lawyer Magazine.
Active in the legal profession, Roland was the first minority to be elected President of the Houston Bar Association, the fifth largest voluntary bar association in the country, with more than 11,000 members. He also served as President of the Texas Young Lawyers Association, an elected position of the 22,000 member state-wide lawyers organization. Roland was President of the Hispanic Bar Association and President of the Dispute Resolution Center. He was an elected Director of the State Bar of Texas, and was a Trustee of the Texas Bar Foundation. President Barack Obama appointed Roland to the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy, the governing body for the prestigious Annapolis, Maryland institution. Roland was appointed by the Mayor and Houston City Council to the Board of Pilot Commissioners of Harris County Ports. He serves as Co-Chair of the Mayor's Hispanic Advisory Board. He also serves on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership, Hermann Eye Fund, and Harris County Hospital District Foundation. He is a Fellow of the ABA, Texas and Houston Bar Foundations. Roland served on the Texas Supreme Court's Judicial Selection Task Force which reported on the method for selecting and retaining judicial officers that would best serve the people of Texas, on the Texas Supreme Court's Gender Fairness Task Force and on the Texas Supreme Court Rules Advisory Committee.
Roland has received numerous honors, is a community leader, and is active in local, state and national politics, serving on numerous finance and steering committees of office holders and candidates.
Concentrations
- Commercial litigation
- Arbitration
- Fraud and fiduciary duty litigation
- Restraining orders and permanent injunctions
- Non-compete, nondisclosure and non-solicitation disputes
- Copyright infringement litigation
- Music publishing and royalty disputes
- Governmental litigation, open records requests, and ultra vires acts
- Prompt Pay Act claims
- Government relations, procurement, contracting and compliance
- Sovereign immunity
- Appellate law
Expertise
Erfahrung
- Significant representations include:
- a major land title production company in a dispute over enforceability of an irrevocable and perpetual software license
- an art studio defending willful infringement claims and asserting a fair use defense
- a major engineering and construction firm with claims for breach of contract, interference with contract and prospective business relations, violations of the Texas Prompt Pay Act, violations of the Texas Public Information Act and ultra vires acts by government officials
- a major oil company in a state-wide class action lawsuit for underpayment of royalties°
- a distributor in a claim for breach of nondisclosure, confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-competition agreements
- a software company in a misappropriation of trade secrets and injunction case
- a record label, music publishing company and a recording artist in a copyright infringement lawsuit
- a record label in a Digital Millennium Copyright Act case and RICO claims
- a recording studio in a misappropriation of name and likeness lawsuit°
- a national payroll data processing firm in money transmitter licensing disputes°
- a major hospital system in commercial, leasing and charitable trust litigation°
- a law firm in a breach of fiduciary duty and fraud case°
- an oilfield supplier in a trade secrets and disgorgement case
- a restaurant in a breach of concession agreement in an airport food and beverage purveyor contract
- an electronics manufacturer in a class action patent dispute
- a barge fleeting company in a water boundary and land title dispute
- a Port Authority in dock damage, leasing, accretion, erosion, open-records, permitting, and immunity claims
- a hazardous chemical waste facility in an ownership and permitting dispute
- a national outdoor marketing firm on a challenge to the constitutionality of an ordinance restricting First Amendment and commercial speech
- Also experienced in local, state and national governmental relations and political matters, and in government contracts, grants, procurement, concessions, open records and public information act demands, and due process and equal protection challenges.
°The above representations were handled by Mr. Garcia prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
- U.S. Marine Corp., OCS/PLC, 1978
- U.S. Marine Corp. Reserves, 1978-1981
Anerkennung durch den Markt
- Listed, Houston Business Journal, Diversity Champion Award, 2024
- Listed, World Affairs Council Houston, "Global Leaders of Influence," 2024
- Listed, Memorial Hermann Board Wall of Honor, "Distinguished Board Wall," 2023
- Listed, Memorial Hermann Board Wall of Honor, "Lifetime Board Wall," 2023
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Government Relations Practice, 2022-2025
- Recipient, Houston Bar Association, "Diversity Award," 2022
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Texas Super Lawyers, 2003, 2005-2018, and 2020-2024
- Listed, "Top 20 Verdicts," Texas Lawyer Magazine, 2018
- Team Member, U.S. News - Best Lawyers®, Best Law Firms Edition, "Law Firm of the Year," Banking & Finance - Litigation, 2017
- Recipient, "Top 25 Latino Lawyers," Latino Leaders Magazine, 2016
- Recipient, "Appellate Lawyer of the Week," Texas Lawyer Magazine, 2015
- Team Member, a U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Government Relations Law Firm of the Year," 2014
- Ranked, Tier 1 – Government Relations, Austin Metropolitan Area
- Recipient, "Leadership in Action Award," Leadership Houston, 2013
- Team Member, a Law360 "Appellate Practice Group of the Year," 2010
- Recipient, "Lifetime Achievement Award," Hispanic Bar Association, 2010
- Recipient, "DiversityFirst™ Award," 2007
- Recipient, "Alumni of the Year Award" South Texas College of Law, 2006
- Recipient, H TexasMagazine, "Top Lawyer Award," 2006
- Recipient, "Leadership Houston 25 Distinguished Alumni Award," 2006
- Recipient, "Texas Legends Award," 2005
- Recipient, "AAMA Hero Award," 2004
- Recipient, "Bikur Cholim Hospital Jerusalem International Brotherhood Award," 2004
- Recipient, "Savvy Award," 2003
- Recipient, "March of Dimes Honorary Family Award," 2002
- Recipient, "NAACP Alex Award in Legal Excellence," 2002
- Recipient, "United Way Leadership Award," 2002
- Recipient, "Leadership Award," Center for Houston's Future, 2001
- Recipient, "Outstanding Young Alumni Award," Baylor University, 1998
- Recipient, "Certificate of Citation," Texas House of Representatives, 1993
- Recipient, "Five Outstanding Young Houstonians Award," 1993
- Recipient, "Presidential Citation," State Bar of Texas, 1992
- Recipient, "President's Award," Houston Bar Association, 1990
- Rated, AV Preeminent® 5.0 out of 5.0
- Appointed, President's Commission on White House Fellowships
- Past Board of Visitors, the United States Naval Academy
- Co-Chair, Mayor's Hispanic Advisory Board
- Board Member, Greater Houston Partnership
- Racial Equity Committee
- Transportation Committee
- Public Education Committee
- Public Policy Steering Committee
- Vice President, Harris County Hospital District Foundation
- Executive Committee
- Vice Chairman, Board of Pilot Commissioners for Harris County Ports
- Chairman, Transition Committee
- Chairman, Diversity and Outreach Committee
- Past Board Member, Memorial Hermann Health System
- Past Governance Committee
- Past Children's Hospital Committee
- Senior Council
- Past Chairman, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital
- Past Member, Houston Arts and Cultural Plan Committee
- Past Board Member, Houston Arts Alliance
- Past Advisory Board Member, Taipei Society
- Advisory Board Member, Recipe for Success Foundation
- President, Houston YET Center, Inc.
- Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Houston Bar Association
- Member, State Bar of Texas
- Member, Texas Bar College
- Lifetime Member, League of United Latin-American Citizens (LULAC)
- Lifetime Member, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
- Graduate, American Leadership Forum
- Graduate, Center for Houston's Future
- Graduate, Leadership Houston
- Volunteer, United Way; March of Dimes; Special Olympics; YWCA; Boy Scouts; Habitat for Humanity; Mental Health Association; Aspiring Youth of Houston; Girls Inc.; and numerous mentoring programs for elementary, middle school and high school youth
- Past President, Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA)
- Past President, Dispute Resolution Center
- Past President, Hispanic Bar Association
- Past President, Houston Bar Association
- Past President, Texas Young Lawyers Association
- Past Board Member, Harris County Houston Sports Authority
- Past Board Member, State Bar of Texas
- Past Trustee, Texas Bar Foundation
- Past Member, Community Commission of the Houston Community College System
- Past Member, HISD Task Force on Magnet and Vanguard Programs
- Past Member, Texas Supreme Court's Gender Fairness Task Force
- Past Member, Texas Supreme Court's Judicial Selection Task Force
- Past Member, Texas Supreme Court's Rules Advisory Committee
Ausbildung
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J.D., South Texas College of Law
- Phi Delta Phi Honorary Fraternity
- Editor, South Texas Law Review
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B.B.A., Graduate of the Honors Program with Distinction, cum laude, Baylor University
- Beta Gamma Sigma, Gamma Beta Phi, Beta Alpha Psi, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Phi Eta Sigma Honorary Fraternities
- Supreme Court of Texas, 1986-1987
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas