Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce’s Featured Member of the Month Mayra Perez of Eiffel Insurance in Mission
We met with the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce’s Featured Member of the Month Macarena Ortiz of OrtizCotro Law, PLLC in Mission. She shared a little about the ways in which she helps her community through the legal services she provides, and about her experience working with the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce.
RGVision: Tell us a little about OrtizoCotro Law, PLLC and the services you provide.
Macarena Ortiz: OrtizCotro Law, PLLC is a law office. I’m a solo practitioner. I help individuals and all kinds of businesses with their legal needs and I practice all areas of civil law. I’ve been in practice since 2014, so I’m on my fourth year of practice here in Mission.
R: What type of legal services do you provide?
MO: Under the civil law umbrella, I practice different areas of the law: family law, immigration, business law, administrative law — mostly for businesses, though — corporate law (disputes between businesses). I do water law. That’s a main part of my practice — general counseling for all kinds of businesses that deal with water rights and water issues here in the Valley.
For businesses, I also help with the creation of businesses. I get a lot of questions about not only the creation, but the establishment and management and operation of businesses. I help them with that.
Another part of my practice that is important: I do employment law and labor law issues — for individuals mostly. Mostly for employees that feel they’ve been discriminated against in the workplace.
R: What kind of cases do you see most regularly?
MO: I do a lot of general counseling work for local governmental entities here in the Valley. I also help individuals and other businesses in areas such as business law, family law, immigration law, and miscellaneous cases that come to my door. I do a whole area of different cases under the civil law umbrella.
R: Tell us about how your business started.
MO: Before I became a lawyer, I was a consultant and I worked for local water districts. I knew that after law school I wanted to come back to my community and serve my community as a lawyer. So, when I graduated and passed the bar, I came back and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past four years: helping my community. I knew right off the bat that that’s exactly what I wanted to do. Come back and continue to provide services to my community — this time as a lawyer — with all kinds of different legal needs.
R: What would you say is the most important aspect of being a part of the Mission Chamber?
MO: I think the most important aspect of being a part of the Mission Chamber — there are a lot of different aspects — but for me, was to get closer to the community and the opportunities that the chamber offered to [achieve] that goal. There are a lot of activities that the Chamber organizes and you can meet a lot of different people and be a part of the community and feel a whole lot closer to the community we live in.
R: What advice would you give to new businesses in regard to the opportunities that the Chamber can provide?
MO: I would advise all businesses that are established here in Mission to approach the Chamber. There are a lot of opportunities to not only meet the community, but meet other businesses. There are mixers and all kinds of events where they can actually participate in and get to know the business community a whole lot better through the Chamber.
