Josh was raised in Pinal County where his family has resided since the 1940s. At a young age, Josh learned the value of an honest day’s work as he watched his father work as a farm manager, and saw his mother work long hours as a dedicated high school administrator. Josh applied that same work ethic in high school where he was the captain of Casa Grande High School’s basketball and baseball teams.
After graduating from high school, Josh left the State of Arizona to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While he was a cadet at the Air Force Academy, Josh competed as an intercollegiate athlete on the Men’s NCAA Division I basketball and baseball teams. After spending a couple of years at the Air Force Academy, Josh transferred to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he competed on the Men’s Division I baseball team. Josh earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
After completing his undergraduate studies, Josh returned to Arizona and enrolled in the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. While in law school, Josh was a Pedrick Scholar (Dean’s List) and also earned a prestigious CALI Award for receiving the highest grade in his Torts class. After his second year of law school, Josh researched legal issues and wrote memoranda for various Pinal County judges while participating in a legal externship at the Pinal County Superior Court. Josh graduated cum laude from Arizona State University’s law school in 2008 and passed the Arizona Bar Exam that same year.
Immediately after taking the bar exam, Josh began his career at McCarville Law Offices, P.L.C., a general practice firm in Casa Grande. The first week after obtaining his bar number, Josh was in the Cochise County Superior Court arguing several motions for summary judgment in a complicated case involving the sale of commercial real estate valued in excess of $1,000,000.00. During the period Josh worked at McCarville Law Offices, he handled personal injury, estate planning, family law, probate, business, agricultural and real estate cases. After spending two years at McCarville Law Offices, Josh accepted employment with the Pinal County Public Defender’s Office where he acquired invaluable jury trial experience.
In January of 2013, he partnered up with Kent Volkmer and Cody Weagant to form Wallace, Volkmer & Weagant, P.L.LC. During that time period, Josh handled some of the most serious, high-profile criminal cases in Pinal County, including several capital (death penalty) cases. Josh’s partner, Kent Volkmer, defeated the incumbent Pinal County Attorney in the 2016 election so Josh started his own firm, Law Offices of J.R. Wallace, P.L.C. Josh continues to handle complex, high-profile criminal cases and even some personal injury matters. He has successfully defended clients before Pinal County juries on charges ranging from misdemeanor DUI to first degree murder.
Josh and his wife MacKenzie live in Casa Grande with their two children. He is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting, camping and exploring Arizona’s back country.