Denice R Shepherd

Law Office of Denice R Shepherd PC

has been practicing and litigating in the areas of personal injury, general civil litigation, probates, guardianships, conservatorships and elder law since 1984, Shepherd has served on the Supreme Court Probate Rules Committee twice. In 2012, Shepherd received the 2012 Eleanor ter Horst Probate award for contributions to probate law. In 2016, she received the William H. Morris Legal Services Foundation Award for pro bono work. Shepherd received the 2011 Arizona Supreme Court Pro Bono Attorney Award. In 2016, she joined the Board of Directors for Step-Up to Justice, a pro-bono organization providing legal services to the poor. She was named Treasurer of the Board and still holds that position. Shepherd has been a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), and has served on both NAELA’s state governing board and on the board of the Arizona Fiduciaries Association (AFA). She has been named AFA’s member of the year for 2011 and 2012 and won the National Guardianship Association’s Affiliate Award in 2010. Shepherd has served on the panel for court-appointed attorneys in Pima County in guardianship/conservatorship actions for most of her legal career. She has been appointed by the court to represent minors in domestic relations cases and has served as a guardian ad litem. She has also served on the court appointment panels in criminal cases for the United States District Court, Pima County Superior Court appellate and trial panels, and the City of Tucson Magistrate’s Court. She is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Shepherd is a licensed fiduciary and has provided fiduciary services since 1996. She has represented fiduciaries for most of her legal career. She has served on the executive board for the Mental Health and Elder Law section of the State Bar of Arizona and has been a speaker for that section on numerous occasions. She frequently presents training and continuing education courses for fiduciaries through the Arizona Fiduciaries Association. Shepherd served as a Judge Pro Tempore for various lower courts for 16 years. In 2021, she was reappointed as a Judge Pro Tempore in Pima County Superior Court. She has also served as a disciplinary hearing officer through the Arizona’s Supreme Court disciplinary section for eight years, hearing cases regarding complaints against attorneys, document preparers, fiduciaries and court reporters. She has served on the Reid Park Zoological Society Board of Directors since 2005. In 2007 and 2008 she was President of the Board and currently holds the position of Board Emeritus She is a member of the Board’s finance committee, chair of their legal committee, and frequently serves as legal counsel to the Board. Shepherd is also a Board Member and Treasurer of Step Up to Justice, a non-profit organization which provides legal services to persons whose income is less than 125% of the Federal Poverty Levels. Besides her work on the Board, Shepherd conducts legal clinics, takes cases for direct representation and provides continuing education to other lawyers volunteering for the program.