Roland Garcia was a young lawyer in Houston nearly two decades ago when he heard that Cesar Alvarez, who is Hispanic, had just been tapped chief executive officer of Greenberg Traurig, a large Miami-based firm.
Garcia, who would later become the first minority elected as president of the Houston Bar Association, was impressed that Greenberg Traurig had selected a minority as its leader in 1997 and he sent a congratulatory letter to Alvarez.
Garcia said he had forgotten all about that letter by 2005 when Greenberg Traurig approached him about opening an office in Houston. During an interview with Alvarez and firm leaders, Garcia said, it dawned on him that he had contacted Alvarez before, and his recognition of the firm's longtime support for diversity helped convince him that the firm was a natural fit for him.
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