Gale Garriott graduated from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1978 and was a Deputy Prosecutor for Porter County, Indiana before moving to Arizona in 1980.  After passing the Arizona bar exam in 1981, he was a Staff Attorney for the Arizona Court of Appeals for two years and then became a Hearing Officer for the Arizona Department of Revenue.

In 1987, he received a Master of Laws in Taxation degree from the University of Florida and spent three and half years in private practice with the Phoenix law firm of Lewis and Roca.  In 1991, he joined the Arizona Attorney General’s Office as the Chief Counsel of the Tax Section where he was responsible for supervising the representation of the Department in state tax matters.  After eight years in that position, he became the Chief Counsel of the Civil Division where he oversaw several civil law sections, including the Tax Section.

He rejoined the Department of Revenue in 2003 as the Deputy Director and was appointed Director in 2005.