James Wirrell

Wirrell, James

James Wirrell

Associate Dean of Library Services and Professor of Law, Legal Practice
Sacramento
Email Address:
jwirrell@pacific.edu
Phone Number:
916.739.7076
Professor James Wirrell joined the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 2003 and has served as Associate Dean for Library Services since 2013. Before coming to McGeorge School of Law, he held positions in the law libraries at UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings College of the Law), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Richmond. 
 
Originally from Canada, Professor Wirrell earned a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of British Columbia before completing his Juris Doctor (JD) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to his legal studies, he earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Regent College, affiliated with the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Simon Fraser University. 
 
Professor Wirrell teaches Global Lawyering Skills I and II.

Professional Experience

  • Interim Director; Head of Access Services/Senior Reference Librarian; Instructional Services Librarian; Circulation/Reference Librarian, McGeorge School of Law
  • Circulation/Reference Librarian, University of Richmond School of Law
  • Reference Librarian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Recent Publications & Presentations

University of the Pacific, in Academic Law Library Structures: Past, Present, and Future (Beth Adelman & Jessica de Perio Wittman, eds., Hein 2022).

Presentation, The Best of Both Worlds: Blending Online and Face-to-Face Learning in Teaching Legal Research. Presented at American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting & Conference, in Boston, Massachusetts on July 23, 2012 (co-presenter).

Book Review, 35 International Journal of Legal Information 591-594 (2007) (reviewing John Witte, Jr., God's Joust, God's Justice: Law and Religion in the Western Tradition (2006)).

Presentation, How to Search Like a Pro. Presented at National Business Institute Seminar Find it Free and Fast on the Net: Strategies for Legal Research on the Web, in San Francisco, California on May 17, 2007 (with Monica Sharum).

How to Search Like a Pro, in Find it Free and Fast on the Net: Strategies for Legal Research on the Web, Program Materials, National Business Institute, 2007 (with Monica Sharum).

Effective Advocacy: Tips, Techniques and Examples, A Selected Bibliography, in Institute Bibliography, Third All California Joint Institute, 2006 (with Monica Sharum).

Book Review, 98 Law Library Journal 172-174 (2006) (reviewing Kent Greenawalt, Does God Belong in Public Schools? (2005)).

Professional Affiliations

  • American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), Northern California Association of Law Libraries (AALL chapter); Western Pacific Chapter of AALL.
Education
BA, Political Science, Simon Fraser University 
MA, Theological Studies, Regent College 
LLB, University of British Columbia 
JD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
MS, Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign