For the founder of The Garza Law Firm, the practice of law begins and ends in the same place: the client.
Story by Ethan Smith | Photography by Nathan Sparks
Appeared in Cityview Magazine, Vol. 42, Issue 4 (July/August 2026)
Ask Marcos Garza what drives him after all these years, and he won’t talk about verdicts, victories, or the awards on his wall. He’ll talk about people. “I believe the most important thing remains putting the client first—when considering strategy, the law, your plan of action,” Garza says. “The client-centered approach, putting the needs and the comfort of the client in front of yourself, is what ultimately yields the best outcomes in the practice of law.” That conviction has been the through line of his career, from his earliest days as a young lawyer to his role today leading one of Knoxville’s most respected firms. What has changed is the scale of the mission.
“When it was just me, I was always working to get the very best result for all of my clients,” he recalls. “It was such a rewarding experience to get to do amazing things for clients, one person at a time—and I still really enjoy that as part of my practice. But what’s awesome about what I do now is I get to focus on creating a culture and an environment where many lawyers can succeed, and we can help more clients. If I can have ten or twenty attorneys working with me that have that same ethos, that same commitment to trying to achieve the very best outcome in that person’s life or that family’s life—it’s magnified.”
His People Building That culture starts with the hiring. While many large firms stock their rosters with young associates fresh out of law school, Garza has deliberately gone the other direction, assembling a team of seasoned attorneys—a choice that addresses one of the most common fears clients have about big firms: that their case will be handed off to someone without the experience to handle it. “I’m always looking for attorneys who can carry their own water,” Garza says. “More often than not, that’s a lawyer who has some experience, who has been kicked in the teeth some and experienced the challenges of practicing law. Occasionally I will bring in a younger lawyer, but it’s got to be the right fit—a special person capable of standing on their own two feet.” For years, Garza admits, he evaluated candidates the way most of the profession does. “For ten years, I always wanted to know what somebody’s GPA was. Were they on law review? All the things you’re taught are important. And I’m still impressed with somebody who graduates top of their class. But if they don’t have a servant’s heart, they can’t work at our firm. It won’t work. If they don’t know how to put the comfort of their client in front of themselves, they won’t last.”
The servant’s heart has become a mantra at the firm, and it’s now the quality Garza probes for hardest in every interview. “I’m trying to figure out: Do they have a servant’s heart? Are they selfless? Are they willing to stay until seven o’clock one night because the client doesn’t get off work until five-thirty and has used all their PTO? That’s the person I want.” Alongside compassion, he looks for something rarer still: courage. “One of our ethos is that we’re looking for creative and courageous outcomes,” he says. “You have to have the courage to stick your neck out and not be afraid of being embarrassed. A lot of lawyers care more about how they’re perceived by the judge than about getting what their client needs. I want the lawyer who is willing to take some risk for the client—because when in doubt, do something.” Highly educated, street savvy, compassionate, and willing to serve: that combination, multiplied across a roster of experienced trial attorneys, is what Garza believes sets his firm apart.
The Strength of the Team It also answers a question clients often ask: why choose a firm over a sole practitioner? For Garza, the answer comes down to both intimacy and muscle. “The thing about a firm of our size is we are small enough that we know all of our clients,” he explains. “We work as a team, so a client is often known by three or four attorneys. And whenever you get multiple brilliant people involved who have expertise in different areas, you end up with extremely creative, often courageous, and highly effective strategies for maximizing outcomes. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The muscle matters just as much. Insurance companies and large corporations have nearly limitless resources, and they know how to use them—burying smaller firms in reams of discovery or filing dozens of motions in a single week. “If you don’t have the resources to be thorough, it’s easy to get bogged down,” Garza says. “But if you have enough size, you can hang in there and not take a lower settlement or short-circuit your client’s case.” And his firm will not blink at the courthouse steps. “We are trial attorneys. Our job is to go to court,” Garza says plainly. “If you’re not willing to go to court and excel at the end game, everything leading up to it is flawed or at risk.” His advice for anyone choosing a lawyer: ask how many cases like yours the firm has actually tried in a courtroom in the past year. “One of the most important things to look at when you’re hiring a law firm is whether they have the resources and the willingness to go to trial,” he says, “or whether they refer cases out, or agree to a lesser outcome, because they’re afraid of the courtroom.”
A Partnership at the Center There is one team member Garza credits above all. “I’m truly blessed to have my wife, Ramsey, as a partner in the management of this law firm,” he says. Though not an attorney, Ramsey is an integral part of the firm—the steady hand steering its administrative ship. She oversees operations, personnel, and the safeguards and processes that keep a growing firm running smoothly, freeing Marcos and his attorneys to focus on practicing law. “She is always thinking, always innovating, always coming up with a new idea—or frankly, always challenging me on how to do something even better,” he says with a smile. “She’s amazing at finding the places where we’re falling down and making us better. Having Ramsey involved in managing the firm is truly an advantage. It facilitates a smoother operation and helps us stay more effective as an organization.” It is, he says, part of what gives the firm its family approach.
The Greatest Reward This year, Garza was once again voted a top attorney by his peers in multiple categories—an honor he says he never takes for granted. But ask him what he’s proudest of, and he points elsewhere. “What I’m more proud of is the fact that eight of our attorneys have been voted by their peers as top in the areas they practice—many of them in multiple areas,” he says. “It’s always a compliment and a blessing.” That pride—in his people more than himself—may be the truest expression of his why. Because for Marcos Garza, the privilege of being a lawyer was never about the spotlight. “The most rewarding part of getting to be a lawyer is seeing happy clients get fantastic outcomes because of the attorneys, the staff, and the culture we’ve created—where people are willing to put the client’s needs well ahead of their own,” he says. “They’re willing to go above and beyond, not just with amazing legal strategies, but to help the client in a more holistic way. That’s the servant’s heart. That’s what we talk about all the time.”
Our 2026 Top Attorneys
Marcos Garza – Civil Litigation, Criminal Defense, DUI Defense, Juvenile Defense, Personal Injury – Auto Accidents, Personal Injury – General, Personal Injury – Motorcycle Accident, Social Security Disability Law, Wrongful Death
Philip La Nasa – Civil Litigation, Consumer Protection, Personal Injury – Auto Accidents, Personal Injury – Motorcycle Accident, Wrongful Death
Jason Legg – Employee Benefits/ERISA, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury – General, Personal Injury – Motorcycle Accident, Social Security Disability Law, Workers’ Compensation
Brent Morris – Civil Litigation, Personal Injury – Auto Accidents, Personal Injury – General, Workers’ Compensation, Wrongful Death
Daniel Morrell – Criminal Defense, DUI Defense, Juvenile Defense
Michael Bock – Social Security Disability Law
Liza Wells – DUI Defense
M. Hallie Dyer – Juvenile Defense
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