A periodic Q & A session with a Lewis Thomason (LT) lawyer
Lewis Thomason: What is the best way to stay motivated and complete goals?
Jared Garceau: Create to-do lists. I put everything on my to-do list (even the small stuff) so I can get the satisfaction of crossing it off. Crossing off one item gives me motivation to move on to the next.
Lewis Thomason: What is your favorite thing to do in Knoxville?
Jared Garceau: The same as my favorite thing to do anywhere: Going out to eat. Calhoun’s, Naples, and Empire Pizza are a few of my favorites.
Lewis Thomason: Star Wars or Star Trek?
Jared Garceau: I’m not a big fan of either but I’d choose Star Wars if I had to pick one.
Lewis Thomason: If you could bring one musician back from the dead, who would it be and why?
Jared Garceau: Freddie Mercury. That guy had one of the best vocal ranges in music history.
Lewis Thomason: What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you?
Jared Garceau: When I was a sophomore in high school I was pulled out of class one morning and, for the first time in my life, brought down to the principal’s office. I thought I was getting some kind of award or something until I walked in and saw two school resource officers, both vice principals, and the principal waiting for me. They told me I was the primary suspect for a bomb threat that was called into Anderson County High School the previous day. I was interrogated for about an hour and had no idea what they meant when they kept saying they had “strong evidence” against me. Turns out the bomb threat was called in from a pay phone at a BP gas station where I picked up my buddy on the morning the call was made. They had video coverage of my car pulling in. I guess they didn’t pay attention to the fact that I never even got out of my car! The authorities later tracked down the true caller – a 20-something-year old McDonald’s employee who likely made the call to get a friend out of school for the day so they could go fishing.
Lewis Thomason: When did you decide to become a lawyer?
Jared Garceau: After taking a full year of pre-med track courses in calculus, chemistry, and biology I decided that I now longer wanted to be a dentist. I worked for a small law firm the summer after my freshman year of college, thought the work seemed interesting, and noticed that the lawyers all drove nice cars. I changed my major to logistics my sophomore year (I wanted a usable major just in case I didn’t get into a good law school) and worked towards becoming a lawyer from that point forward.
Lewis Thomason: What is your favorite drink and why?
Jared Garceau: I drink beer from a can and wine from a box. I like Bud Light and Chillable Red Franzia. Why? I’m cheap and the cheap stuff gets the job done.
Lewis Thomason: What famous person do you admire and why?
Jared Garceau: I’m going to cheat and talk about my favorite fictional famous person, Jed Bartlet. I often think the greatest President of my lifetime was a guy on TV. Bartlet exemplifies the qualities of the ideal politician: articulate, funny, brilliant, and most importantly, someone who is guided by a strong moral compass. It’s funny that The West Wing, a political drama, could air as a fantasy show today.
Lewis Thomason: What has been your greatest challenge as an attorney?
Jared Garceau: Time management. The cliché is totally true. It seems like every task I complete is promptly replaced by two new tasks. With a baby girl on the way, I don’t expect this challenge to become any easier in the foreseeable future.
Jared Garceau is an associate in the firm’s Knoxville office practicing in the areas of business and commercial law, construction, and general civil litigation. As a law student, Mr. Garceau was a two-year member of the National Professional Responsibility Moot Court Team. He also received the 2014 Chancellor’s Citation for Extraordinary Professional Promise as well as Certificates of Academic Excellence for receiving the top grade in Legal Process I, Civil Procedure II, Torts II, Legal Profession, Fundamental Concepts of Income Taxation, Constitutional Law, American Jurisprudence, Investigatory Criminal Procedure, Jurisprudence, Secured Transactions, Trial Practice, and Workers Compensation. Mr. Garceau worked as a law clerk for the firm during the summers of 2012 and 2013.