Joshua Shepherd

Joshua Shepherd – Receivership, Bankruptcy, Creditor Rights, and Business Litigation Attorney

Joshua Shepherd is a Dallas-based litigation attorney whose practice focuses on receiverships, bankruptcy litigation, creditor rights, and complex business disputes, often involving fiduciary-driven enterprise disputes. He represents court-appointed receivers and bankruptcy trustees in litigation and matters involving asset recovery and preservation, and represents banks, financial institutions, lenders, and other creditors in protecting and enforcing their rights through both litigation and out-of-court debt restructuring.

Josh regularly assists clients in matters arising from insolvency proceedings, distressed businesses, and complex commercial disputes, including matters involving companies operating in the digital asset, financial technology (fintech), and healthcare sectors.

Receiverships

Josh regularly serves as and represents court-appointed receivers in both federal and state receivership proceedings, which often involve distressed businesses, fraud investigations, high net-worth divorces, asset recoveries, and property sales. In these matters, Josh works with receivers and counsel on litigation strategy, recovery of assets, investigation of potential claims, and resolution of disputes involving creditors, former management, and third parties.

With his receivership practice, Josh has firsthand insight into the legal, operational, and fiduciary responsibilities imposed by courts when managing distressed enterprises, conducting property sales, and preserving assets for the benefit of creditors.

This experience strengthens his ability to advise receivers and other fiduciaries because he understands not only the litigation issues that arise in receiverships but also the practical challenges of administering an estate, operating businesses, and maximizing recoveries under court supervision.

Josh’s receivership experience also enhances his ability to represent bankruptcy trustees, who perform many of the same fiduciary functions in bankruptcy cases, including investigating claims, recovering assets, and administering estates for creditors.

Trustee Representation and Bankruptcy Litigation

Josh represents bankruptcy trustees, and creditors such as banks, credit unions, and landlords in litigation arising from bankruptcy proceedings. His work frequently involves disputes concerning fraudulent transfers, fiduciary duties, creditor claims, asset recovery, collateral protection, and litigation connected to failed or distressed companies.

Because bankruptcy trustees serve in a fiduciary capacity similar to that of court-appointed receivers, Josh’s receivership experience provides him with a practical understanding of the challenges trustees face when investigating claims, recovering assets, and administering bankruptcy estates.

This perspective allows him to approach bankruptcy litigation with a deeper understanding of how fiduciaries must balance legal strategy, estate administration responsibilities, and creditor recoveries, which often results in more efficient and effective litigation strategies.

His bankruptcy litigation work also informs his receivership practice by providing insight into insolvency law, creditor priorities, and asset recovery strategies, which frequently arise in receivership proceedings.

Financial Institutions and Creditor Representation

Josh regularly represents banks, credit unions, financial institutions, lenders, and other creditors in protecting and enforcing their rights when borrowers or counterparties encounter financial distress.

His work includes representing creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, receiverships, and commercial litigation, as well as advising clients in out-of-court restructurings, loan workouts, and debt restructuring matters. In these situations, Josh helps creditors evaluate litigation risk, negotiate restructuring arrangements, and pursue recovery strategies designed to protect collateral and maximize recoveries.

His experience representing fiduciaries such as receivers and bankruptcy trustees provides valuable perspective when advising creditors, allowing him to anticipate how courts and court-appointed fiduciaries are likely to approach disputes involving distressed businesses and borrowers.

Business and Insolvency-Related Litigation

Josh also represents clients in complex commercial litigation matters involving contract disputes, business torts, fiduciary duty claims, and disputes arising from distressed or failed businesses.

His litigation experience includes matters involving companies operating in the digital asset and financial technology (fintech) sectors, as well as disputes involving participants in the healthcare industry, where regulatory and operational complexities often intersect with financial distress and litigation.

This broader commercial litigation experience strengthens Josh’s insolvency and receivership practices by providing extensive experience with complex fact patterns, multi-party disputes, and litigation strategy across multiple jurisdictions.

Similarly, his work in bankruptcy and receivership matters provides valuable insight into financial structures, creditor relationships, and asset recovery strategies, which frequently play a central role in business disputes involving distressed companies.

Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Josh graduated from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Josh has been recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” (Bankruptcy & Workout) by D Magazine as well as having been listed to Super Lawyer’s list of Texas Rising Stars® for six consecutive years.

Honors and Awards

• Best Lawyers in Dallas (Bankruptcy & Workout), D Magazine, 2017
• Named to Texas Rising Stars© by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters partner publication/insert distributed by Texas Monthly, April 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019
• Member of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (NAFER), an organization made up of leading professionals who work in the area of receivership, insolvency, bankruptcy, restructuring, and international asset recovery
• Elected as a Barrister (2014-2022), and then Master (2022-present) of the Honorable John C. Ford American Inn of Court, established and maintained exclusively by bankruptcy attorneys to foster the mentoring of counselors, promote collegiality of attorneys and judges, and encourage professional conduct in the practice of law
• Named as a 2010 Finalist for the “Rookie of the Year” Distinction for the William J. Rochelle, Jr. 2010 Course: Chapter 11 – The Practice of Corporate Reorganization Law
• 2010 Graduate of Turnaround Management Association/John C. Ford American Inn of Court Corporate Renewal & Restructuring Boot Camp

Selected Trustee and Receivership Cases:

• In re With Purpose, Inc.; Case No. 23-30246-mvl7 (Bankr. N.D. Tex.)
• In re Animo Services, LLC; Case No. 23-30035-mvl7 (Bankr. N.D. Tex.)
• In re Animo Bancorp, Inc.; Case No. 24-50359-cag7 (Bankr. W.D. Tex.)
• In re Rhodium Encore LLC, et al.; Case No. 24-90448-arp11 (Bankr. S.D. Tex.)
• In the matter of the marriage of Douglas Paul Pritchett and Chorlecia Jan Pritchett; Cause No. 84255; 196^th Judicial District Court, Hunt County, Texas
• In the matter of the marriage of Ashley Nicole Robbins and Blake Joel Robbins; Cause No. DF-21-18201; 302^nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
• In the matter of the marriage of Noah Nuru and Sumeya Mohamednur; Cause No. DF-21-11871; 255^th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
• In the matter of the marriage of D.C. and M.C; Cause No. DF-19-11352; 255^th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
• In the matter of the marriage of Fonda Tosh Bates, and Bryan Douglas Bates; Cause No. 98760D; 378^th Judicial District Court, Ellis County, Texas
• In Re: Gulfstream Diagnostics, LLC; Case No. 19-30159-sgj11 (Bankr. N.D. Tex.)
• In Re: Life Partners Holdings, Inc., et al.; Case No. 15-40289-mxm11 (Bankr. N.D. Tex.)
• PNL Hickory, LLC, as successor to Bank of America v. C&D Skilled Robotics, Inc.; Cause No. 1:20-cv-00437-MJT (E.D. Tex)
• UMB Bank, N.A. v. Kobi Electric, LLC, Fouad Saade a/k/a Frank Saade, and Michael Sawilowsky; Cause No. 017-299994-18; 17^th Judicial District Court, Tarrant County, Texas
• KeyBank National Association v. MLS, LLC and Mark XVI Transportation Solutions, Inc.; Cause No. C-4713-17-B; 93^rd Judicial District Court, Hidalgo County, Texas

Selected Published Cases:

• In re Life Partners Holdings, Inc., 606 B.R. 277 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2019), abrogated by Matter of Buffets, L.L.C., 979 F.3d 366 (5th Cir. 2020)
• LSREF2 Apex (TX) II, LLC v. Blomquist, No. 05-14-00851-CV, 2015WL 4554522 (Tex. App.—Dallas July 29, 2015, no pet.)
• In re Margaux City Lights Partners, Ltd., No. BR 12-35828-BJH, 2014 WL 6674922 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. Nov. 24, 2014)
• In re Margaux City Lights Partners, Ltd., No. 12-35828-BJH, 2014 WL 6668982 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. Nov. 20, 2014)

Articles and Presentations:

• Legal and Financial Complexities of Ponzi Schemes (with Cliff Porter, CPA, CFE); Fox Forensic Accounting · 2025
• Claims and Claim Objections: Update on the Federal and Local Rules (co-authored with Aaron J. Power); Bankruptcy 101 Course · Texas Bar CLE · 2016
• Mediation: Whither and Whether (co-authored with Hon. Leif M. Clark); Texas Bankruptcy Bench/Bar Conference · Bankruptcy Law Section of the State Bar of Texas · 2015
• Objections to Exemptions: The Burden of Proof & Evidentiary Hurdles; 7th Annual Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Conference · The University of Texas School of Law · 2011
• Law and Practice Skills: Preparing Witnesses for a 341 Hearing and Motion to Extend Stay; 7th Annual Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Conference · The University of Texas School of Law · 2011