Jennifer Garland, Prestige Notaries CEO, Expands Her Impact by Investing in Others

Across the United States, thousands of attorneys, banks, corporations, and title professionals rely on field work they rarely see up close. Much of that work is carried out by Prestige Inc., the company its President and CEO Jennifer Garland founded in 2015.

Today, Prestige includes more than 257,000 field agents nationwide and has helped support more than $500 million in mass tort victim settlements in under three years. The company works with major firms such as White and Case, Morgan and Morgan, and Vedder Price, along with more than 3,500 title and escrow companies.

Garland also oversees NotaryDash, a software platform designed to help notaries and signing companies keep their work organized. Together, these two organizations sit inside an industry where accuracy and timing are everything, carrying the enormous responsibility of keeping legal work from falling behind.

Learning the Legal System From the Inside

Before she founded either company, Garland worked as a paralegal in the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. Inside the Complex Litigation Unit, her work focused on consumer protection matters, including the $25 billion multi-state agreement with the country’s five largest mortgage servicers.

She also handled mass tort and Supreme Court cases, all of which taught her how fragile the legal process can be. One misplaced file, missing signature, or overlooked deadline could affect people in ways they might never fully know.

She saw how many hands a single case passed through and how important it was for every person involved in the process to show up and do their part. These were lessons she would draw on later while building her own companies.

After leaving the Attorney General’s Office, Garland started managing a mortgage company. There, she saw something that many businesses were running up against, which was the growing need for hand-vetted notaries who could provide dependable services at a reasonable price.

Clients needed consistency, not unpredictability, and that gap in the market led her to build Prestige Notaries.

As demand grew, so did the services the company offered, moving beyond notary work and into broader legal support. Eventually, that expansion led to the transition to Prestige Companies, which now provides mobile notary services, field agent services, and apostille support throughout the country.

Lessons From Other Leaders

Garland’s career hasn’t been shaped by a single mentor but by a circle of people who have guided her at different stages of life. She credits her parents, both entrepreneurs, as the earliest influences on her career. They taught her the importance of hard work and character, values she still leans on today.

“If they didn’t show up, they didn’t get paid,” she explained. “My mother has a servant’s heart and always led with compassion, while my father was incredibly generous and believed in giving back.”

Two attorneys she worked with early in her legal career, Sarah and Todd, also left a lasting impression.

“Sarah was full of life and deeply grounded, and Todd was professional, kind, and quietly brilliant,” she said. “They both saw potential in me before I saw it in myself and constantly encouraged me to grow.”

Over the last decade, another mentor named Lisa has played a consistent role in her life. Garland speaks highly of her, describing Lisa as generous with her time, her heart, and her wisdom.

“I adore her and am so grateful for the role she continues to play in my life and career,” she said.

Garland gravitates toward mentors who are honest, lead with integrity, and bring real-world experience she can learn from. People who are willing to offer the truth, even when it is harder to say, are the ones she values most.

She stays close to her mentors by calling or texting them and going on lunch outings or trips, viewing them as friends as much as trusted guides. Mentorship feels like a two-way street in her life, something built on mutual growth rather than one-sided advice.

Paying It Forward

Today, Jennifer Garland is a mentor herself, and it has become one of the most meaningful parts of her career. She has worked with more than a thousand small business owners, many of them mobile notaries, field agents, or service providers navigating the same challenges she once faced.

“Whoever calls on me, I answer,” she said. “Whether it’s a one-hour coaching call or an ongoing relationship, I approach every conversation with the intention to pour into others the way others have poured into me. I believe in being honest, encouraging, and practical, and I love helping people find clarity, direction, and confidence in their next steps.”

Mentorship is not something she tries to fit into the margins of her schedule. It feels like a calling, one she hopes to keep leaning into for years to come.

As her own career has evolved, her understanding of what people truly need from a mentor has evolved as well. While she used to jump in with advice the moment someone asked for guidance, eventually taught her that immediate answers are not what most people are looking for. What they want first is someone who listens.

Over time, she went from offering solutions to asking better questions, creating space for people to think through their own decisions. Now, she tailors her guidance to the person in front of her, taking their goals and stage of growth into consideration. What once felt like a one-directional exchange has become a more collaborative, intentional process focused on long-term impact.

Continuing the Lead the Herd

Out of all the guidance Garland has received, the most transformative advice was to stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like an owner.

“It shifted how I approached everything,” she said. “My time, my decisions, my risks, and my responsibilities. It taught me to lead with accountability, to solve problems instead of waiting for someone else to fix them, and to build systems that could grow beyond me. That mindset helped me stop playing small and start building businesses with long-term impact.”

Her favorite part of mentoring is being able to offer others the insight she once needed herself. Supporting new business owners as they avoid common mistakes, gain confidence, and lay a stronger foundation from the beginning brings her a deep sense of fulfillment.

Mentoring has also influenced her in return. It has strengthened her empathy, refined her leadership, and reminded her of the mission behind her work. The experience keeps her grounded, pushes her to lead by example, and continues to help her grow both personally and professionally. Outside of running Prestige, Jennifer Garland enjoys genealogy, traveling, and collecting elephants, whose herds are guided by its wisest female.

The symbolism feels fitting. In her own work, Garland strives to lead with purpose, offering support, clarity, and strength to those who trust her. She hopes that the businesses she has built and the individuals she has mentored will continue to grow with the same sense of confidence and direction that has guided her own path.