Our Team

Jim Shields is a serial entrepreneur, strategic investor, and a successful attorney with over four decades of experience supporting closely held founder-led businesses. He enjoys managing complex commercial business litigation and representing financial institutions and capital intermediaries. He has substantial legal and business experience in a variety of industries, with a long history of success.

Jim is a frequent lecturer on topics related to management of complex legal disputes and litigation strategy. He also often speaks to business leaders, executives, and business owner groups on various topics, including the art of negotiation, anatomy of a real estate transaction, and effective preparation for sell-side exit transactions of closely held companies. Jim also passes along his hard-earned wisdom at North Texas universities where he speaks on entrepreneurship and topics related to business success.

Giving back to the North Texas community and fostering talents of young entrepreneurs are strong passions of Jim’s. In 2013, he launched a community involvement project called IMPACT 365, which inspires each individual in the firm to take intentional action every day to help someone else. Jim pours his heart, time, and resources into Communities Foundation of Texas, a North Texas-based foundation that focuses on businesses partnering with charities to provide a positive local impact. Shields Legal has been a Cornerstone Sponsor of the Foundation since its inception.

Litigation

• Handled and tried 100+ cases in state court, federal court and arbitration, jury and non-jury. Focused on business disputes, including business torts such as fraudulent transfer, tortious interference, and non-compete matters; business contract disputes; shareholder disputes; executive HR disputes; and insurance claim matters.

Capital Markets

• Closed multiple complicated investment transactions for Charitable Fund
• Built a company that facilitated the preparation and closing of hundreds of commercial and residential loans for various lending institutions
• Managed and closed numerous funding transactions, including commercial, office and industrial real estate projects
• Designed capital structure for numerous private companies to support and enhance strategic and business objectives
• Developed and implemented a program to support private companies’ application for PPP government assistance loans

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Managed numerous buy-side and sell-side transactions, in industries ranging from professional services, hospitality, logistics, energy, manufacturing, healthcare, and technology/data
• Managed and closed numerous “roll up” transactions for existing companies, in a variety of industries including real estate, aerospace, home services, and oilfield services

Corporate Finance and General Corporate Advisement

• Completed full corporate reorganizations for numerous companies, to either prepare for a sell-side exit transaction or close a capital facility to enable expansion and growth, in various industries including restaurants, healthcare, retail consumer products, retail grocery and food services, and agriculture and food processing
• Completed numerous private placements for both acquisition and follow-on investment
• Participated as a board member or advisory board member for numerous companies in diverse industries

J.D., St. Mary’s University School of Law, 1983

• St. Mary’s Law Journal, Editor, 1982-83, Associate Editor 1981-82
• Three articles submitted and published in St. Mary’s Law Journal
• Order of the Barristers, 1982

B.A., St. Mary’s University, 1980

• Dean’s List

Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas, 1976

• State Bar of Texas
• United States District Court, Northern District of Texas
• Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

• Federal Clerkship, United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Fall 1982

• American Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, Dallas Bar Association, Member
• Dallas Advanced Real Estate Group, Member

• Author, Wealth that Lasts: 10 Principles of Legacy Wealth published 2024
• Author, Habits of Success published 2022, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Best Seller