Attorney at Law, Macarena Ortiz, is a woman with a big heart and an even bigger passion for her clients.
By Rachael Houpt
Texas Border Business
Macarena Ortiz is the super-woman who is Ortiz Cotro Law. She practices civil law here in the Rio Grande Valley, with an office in Mission, Texas. Macarena was born in Madrid, Spain, and she comes from a family of lawyers and politicians. With a passion for music, Macarena first thought her calling was to be a musician. That’s actually why she came to the United States in 2001, to study music. She dreamt of becoming a jazz musician. Macarena realized, however, that she was missing a key ingredient- she didn’t care so much for the world of a musician. She came to see that her true calling was to be a lawyer. “When a client comes to me with an issue and I know that I can help, the fact that I can be there for somebody else and deal with their problem or their case, I take it very seriously.” said Ortiz, “It is my calling. [An attorney] is what I was meant to be.”
Under the civil law ‘umbrella’, there are multiple areas of practice; these are administrative law, governmental law, family law, immigration law, business law, and real estate law. There are several aspects that make Ortiz Cotro Law stand out from all others. One factor is that Macarena Ortiz is bilingual. She speaks both English and Spanish fluently. For many of her clients who speak Spanish, their own language, “That is a huge plus,” stated Macarena, “especially for businesses who are coming out of Mexico, or Mexican Nationals who have established businesses in our area. Not only is she bilingual, her type of practice is a ‘one-stop-shop’ for almost everything that someone might need – from starting a business, to dealing with labor issues (one example could be bringing an employee from abroad). As mentioned before, Macarena Ortiz also practices immigration. This encompasses what the general public might think of, like green cards and citizenship, as well as all the details involved in helping businesses bring their own employees. Regarding family and other immigration, “This is not a typical large law firm where it can sometimes be a bit impersonal. This is more one-on-one. I am always available for my clients.” said Macarena, “My clients are the most important thing for me.”
In the near future, you can expect to hear and see great things from Macarena Ortiz. A one-woman-band, she currently works alone. She feels that the work she does is important enough to do herself, rather than delegate tasks that might seem to be a lower priority to larger law firms. As for her long term goals, Macarena plans to stay here in the Rio Grande Valley and continue to grow her practice into a successful one, while still maintaining her ‘small firm’ values and providing great services to the community that she has learned to love, and which, in her own words, “adopted [her] many years ago.”
When asked if she has any advice to give to the general public, her response was this: “Always reach out. There is one thing we all know, and it happens to all of us, whether you are an attorney or not. At some point in life you will have questions that need answers, and you will face situations where you may not know what to do. Reach out. There is always help. Don’t be afraid. You don’t know what you don’t know.”
