Biography and education
Dr. Mari Garza is an Assistant Professor at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. Dr. Garza’s expertise, scholarship, research, and publications focus on children’s legal issues, both domestically and internationally. Dr. Garza has also written about attorney and paralegal ethics and paralegal education and practice. Dr. Garza teaches the following courses: Legal Research, Legal Drafting, Advanced Legal Research and Writing, Applied Research Project, Family Law, Estates & Trusts, Social Legislation – Asylum Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Dr. Garza also enjoys teaching Bobcat Beginnings, an undergraduate seminar for incoming freshman to acclimate them to university academics and life. Each semester, Dr. Garza serves on the oral review committee for graduating Legal Studies students in defending their Applied Research Projects.
Dr. Garza is part of the 2026-2027 ACUE Effective Teaching Practices certification course cohort at Texas State. As part of her service to her profession, Dr. Garza has been a member of the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) since 2021. With AAfPE, she has presented several times at national conferences since 2025 and has served as a member of organization committees, as well as on the editorial board as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Paralegal Education & Practice.
Dr. Garza holds a Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. During law school, Dr. Garza served as the Editor-In-Chief for the Law and Business Review of the Americas law journal (no longer in publication) with the International Law Review Association. Dr. Garza is a two-time graduate from Texas State University, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with majors in Political Science and Spanish and a Master of Arts Degree in Legal Studies. After several years in private practice, Dr. Garza returned to her alma mater to teach with Texas State’s graduate level Legal Studies program in 2018.
As a legal practitioner, Mari was a business owner, supervised paralegals, and was a litigator and mediator. She practiced primarily in the areas of family law, estate planning, probate, and mediation. Mari completed the Texas 40-hour basic mediation training, as well as the 30-hour family law mediation training and 15-hour child protection training, with emphasis on child protection and family violence issues. Mari has mediated for private family law cases and for local district attorney offices for their Department of Family and Protective Services child protection cases. In preferred roles, Mari also served in private family lawsuits under special court appointments for children, including as an attorney ad litem, guardian ad litem, amicus attorney, and friend of court.
Education and Training:
Juris Doctorate, Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law, 2013
Master of Arts, Legal Studies, Texas State University, 2007
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and Spanish, Texas State University, 2006
Advanced Family Mediation Training, Central Texas Dispute Resolution Center, 2015
State Bar of Texas Guardianship ad Litem Attorney Certification, 2015
Texas Mediation Certificate – 40 Hour Basic Training, 2007
Dr. Garza is part of the 2026-2027 ACUE Effective Teaching Practices certification course cohort at Texas State. As part of her service to her profession, Dr. Garza has been a member of the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) since 2021. With AAfPE, she has presented several times at national conferences since 2025 and has served as a member of organization committees, as well as on the editorial board as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Paralegal Education & Practice.
Dr. Garza holds a Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. During law school, Dr. Garza served as the Editor-In-Chief for the Law and Business Review of the Americas law journal (no longer in publication) with the International Law Review Association. Dr. Garza is a two-time graduate from Texas State University, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with majors in Political Science and Spanish and a Master of Arts Degree in Legal Studies. After several years in private practice, Dr. Garza returned to her alma mater to teach with Texas State’s graduate level Legal Studies program in 2018.
As a legal practitioner, Mari was a business owner, supervised paralegals, and was a litigator and mediator. She practiced primarily in the areas of family law, estate planning, probate, and mediation. Mari completed the Texas 40-hour basic mediation training, as well as the 30-hour family law mediation training and 15-hour child protection training, with emphasis on child protection and family violence issues. Mari has mediated for private family law cases and for local district attorney offices for their Department of Family and Protective Services child protection cases. In preferred roles, Mari also served in private family lawsuits under special court appointments for children, including as an attorney ad litem, guardian ad litem, amicus attorney, and friend of court.
Education and Training:
Juris Doctorate, Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law, 2013
Master of Arts, Legal Studies, Texas State University, 2007
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and Spanish, Texas State University, 2006
Advanced Family Mediation Training, Central Texas Dispute Resolution Center, 2015
State Bar of Texas Guardianship ad Litem Attorney Certification, 2015
Texas Mediation Certificate – 40 Hour Basic Training, 2007
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Garza, M. (n.d.). Teaching Dispute Resolution Communication Skills in the Paralegal Classroom. Journal of Paralegal Education and Practice, 1.
- Garza, M. (2026). "Talkin’ ‘bout my g-g-g-generation”: Leveraging Multigenerational Dynamics of Paralegals. Journal of Paralegal Education and Practice, 1. Retrieved from https://ojs.aafpe.org/ojs/index.php/jpep/issue/view/5/19
- Garza, A. M., & Giraud, A. G. (n.d.). The Post-Adoption Contact Agreement Legislation at the State Level: Evaluating Individual State Legislation. Annual Review of Law and Policy in Health and Social Work.
- Garza, A. M. (n.d.). Lelé Legalities: Cultural Heritage Law and the Rights of Indigenous Girls in Mexico. Notre Dame Journal of International and Comparative Law.
- Garza, A. M. (n.d.). Exploitation and Ethics: Power, Gender, and Attorney-Client Sexual Relationships. The International Journal of Law, Ethics, and Technology.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Teaching Award of Honor, Texas State Alumni Association. January 2020 - May 2020
- Award / Honor Recipient: Alpha Chi Favorite Professors for 2025, Alpha Chi National Honor Society. November 7, 2025 - Present
- Award / Honor Recipient: Texas Bar College, State Bar of Texas. March 2015 - Present
Featured service activities
- University Mentor
Legal Studies ALRW Mentor to Laura Smith
- Member
American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) Speakers Bureau
- Editor
American Association for Paralegal Education Journal of Paralegal Education and Practice
- Member
Legal Studies Advanced Legal Research and Writing (ALRW) Course Update Committee
- Participant
Write Watchers
- Other
Letters of Recommendation/Reference Letters