Joshua Joyce is a seasoned trial attorney whose life experience spans continents, cultures, and courtrooms. His global upbringing, public service, and elite litigation background uniquely position him to advocate for individuals navigating the United States immigration system.

Josh was born in Springfield, Missouri, and spent his early childhood in San Diego County, where he built lifelong friendships within the Hispanic community. He later lived in Kansas City before moving to Quebec City, Canada, where he was placed in a French-speaking school despite not speaking French. Immersed in a “sink-or-swim” environment, Josh learned firsthand what it feels like to navigate complex systems in a language not your own. The kindness of those who helped him adapt left a permanent mark.

His family later moved to Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, where he completed high school. During his teenage years, Josh experienced civil unrest and military coups firsthand. At sixteen, during the 1999 coup led by General Robert Guéï, his family prepared to flee their home as gunfire and explosions echoed through the night. Those experiences shaped his deep empathy for individuals seeking safety, stability, and opportunity in a new country.

After high school, Josh graduated from Mission University in Springfield, Missouri, earning awards in writing and drama. He later attended Washington University School of Law in St. Louis with a generous “Scholar in Law” scholarship. While there, he received the Dean’s Public Service Award, served as a staff editor on the Journal of Law and Policy, and led both the Criminal Law Society (President) and Public Interest Law Society (Vice President).

Josh was selected nationally for the competitive One-Year College Program and commissioned as a Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force—one of only four selected nationwide that year. Over eleven and a half years of active-duty service, he focused primarily on litigation and complex trial work.

He was competitively selected to serve as an Area Defense Counsel, quickly being ranked in the top 4%, and later as a senior prosecutor (Circuit Trial Counsel), where he first-chaired some of the Air Force’s most serious and complex cases nationwide. His performance earned praise from generals and federal prosecutors at the Department of Justice. In 2022, he was among the first group certified as a Special Trial Counsel.

Josh later served a twelve-month deployment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, advising on legal matters involving over $106 billion in Foreign Military Sales. During that deployment, he was ranked the #1 Major across the entire joint mission, which also included Navy and Army servicemembers.

Returning to litigation, Josh was again selected to serve as Senior Defense Counsel, defending Airmen in high-stakes cases. He was ranked in the top 3% of defense counsel in the Air Force. In one of his most meaningful cases, he led a team of eleven in defending an Airman wrongfully accused of murder and manslaughter, securing not guilty verdicts at trial.

Throughout his military career, Josh earned three Meritorious Service Medals, two Commendation Medals, and numerous performance awards. He has trained and mentored hundreds of attorneys in advanced trial advocacy.

Josh joined Paladin Immigration Law because immigration is deeply personal to him. He has lived through political instability and has a special place in his heart for asylum seekers. He has navigated foreign systems and languages and knows the struggles that can bring. His own grandmother immigrated to the United States from Newfoundland, Canada, after marrying his grandfather, a U.S. Air Force servicemember, and experienced firsthand the complexity of the green card and citizenship process.

For Josh, immigration law is not just a legal practice — it is a calling. He brings elite courtroom skill, cultural awareness, and unwavering dedication to every client he serves.