Throughout his career, Roy has won numerous awards for his success in and out of the courtroom.
Rogelio Garcia, better known to clients and friends as Roy, is from Chicago Heights. One of 10 children, he learned early to watch, listen, and learn, and then to speak out. To this day, those who do not know him think that he is a bit of an introvert, but the truth is that he likes to get the facts before speaking. This may be because of his training. After high school, Rogelio attended Southern Illinois University and majored in radio and television. His first job was as an on-air radio personality. One of the news beats he covered– for a show called The Chief Judge’s Corner (on AM radio) – took him to the local courthouse on a regular basis. He sat in on criminal cases, became good friends with one of the prosecutors, and got hooked on the law.
Rogelio, however, wanted to branch out. He left the radio station to take a job in the annuity department at an insurance company for a while. This was a great move for him in one respect – he met his wife on the job. After a few years, though, his yearning for keeping up with the news, and his interest in the law, conspired within him and he decided to attend law school. After passing the bar, he worked in the Public Defender’s office, mostly trying criminal cases. From there he went to work in a small law firm where he met Michael McCready. The firm was originally Michael P. McCready & Associates, but Roy’s dedication and experience allowed him to make partner in short order. The firm has been called McCready, Garcia & Leet since 2009.
Though he works long hours and has a bit of a commute, Roy finds time to engage in many hobbies. He works out, free weights being his exercise medium of choice. He does this at least two-to-three times a week, and always follows up with a good run. The running is actually a habit he picked up from his daughters, who both engaged in cross-country running in high school. He became so engaged by their activity that Roy put running the Chicago Marathon on his bucket list. It’s no longer there – running the Chicago Marathon is now on the list of Roy’s impressive achievements.
Now that his daughters are college age, Roy has a bit more time to enjoy his other passions, which include keeping abreast of national politics, reading, listening to music, and movie-going. His favorite books include biographies and those in the military action genre. He reads very little fiction, with books written by Robert Ludlum being the rare exception. He also reads anything he can get his hands on that relates to current political events. In terms of music, Roy’s preference is for “oldies” by groups like Kansas, Journey, and The Doobie Brothers. When he’s in the car and just about any “remake” is played, Roy will quickly “name that tune,” and the original artist. Of course, the original is always better. If it’s not music on the radio, it will be NPR.
Roy also loves to watch football, the Dallas Cowboys being his favorite. He has a good reason for spurning the local team in this sport –his parents were both born in Texas and he spent many happy hours rooting for the Cowboys with his dad. When the Bears announced they were playing the Cowboys a few years back, Roy made sure to claim his share (at least) of the office season tickets. Of course, he wore a Dallas jersey to the game, but we excused him.
Roy and his family have traveled all over the country, not only for cross-country meets, but also because Roy’s daughters sang in their school choir. Roy denies that they got their voices from him – he has a wonderful rich baritone – but is glad to have done so much traveling. Because of his love of history, Roy’s future plans include trips with his wife to countries that are steeped in history such as Egypt or Italy.
For now, though, Roy is very happy and very busy right where he is. He loves his work and his friends. He is proud that one of his best friends is a classmate from 2nd grade. Whether on the job or with friends, Roy is always looking, listening, learning and being considerate of everyone around him. He is one of the most well-rounded people you will ever meet, especially considering that he has lived in one area of the country his whole life.