James' aims are to help clients take control of the issues that affect them and focus their arrangements upon the needs of any children. He specialises in complex financial issues and non-adversarial and cost effective approaches to divorce including mediation, arbitration and collaborative law. He works with clients who desire an ethical approach to resolving family law related issues. James is recognised throughout the country for his leadership in alternative dispute resolution.

Some cases require court involvement and James has the experience and reputation for helping clients achieve a successful outcome in the court system.

As a leader for positive change in family law, James was instrumental in the arrival of collaborative practice in Europe during 2003 and led Resolution’s Jubilee year programme, ‘Parenting after Parting’ to heighten lawyers' awareness of positive co-parenting. James was one of the first tranche of family lawyers and judges to train as a family arbitrator. As a member of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators James is able to arbitrate financial disputes in family cases.

In October 2011 James was shortlisted for the award Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Family Law in the inaugural Family Law Awards 2011. He has been named by both Chambers and Partners UK 2013 and Legal 500 UK 2012 as a leading individual in the field of family law.

James is described by The Legal 500 UK 2011 as a lawyer who is "very creative and thinks out of the box." The 2012 edition referred to James as someone who has "a keen desire to secure a child-focused outcome". Chambers and Partners UK 2012 describes James as a specialist in mediation and collaborative law who has a client focused and considered approach. The 2013 edition comments that "what James Pirrie doesn't know about the Child Support Agency isn't worth knowing". He is "very pleasant to deal with: he is detail- focused and trustworthy with a nice manner".

Recognised internationally in family law, James was voted onto the Board of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals in 2005.  He is a long-standing board member of Resolution.

James is a Resolution Accredited Specialist and is co-author of Resolution’s three textbooks on financial provision for children, ADR and The Child Support Agency.  He sets the accreditation paper on children’s finance, is a contributor to Resolution’s matrimonial consent orders and co-wrote and edited Sweet and Maxwell’s cohabitation law and precedents publication.  He has the Financial Planning Certificate and G10 qualifications of the Chartered Insurance Institute. He writes and lectures on conflict resolution and negotiation. In 2011 James became an accredited civil/commercial mediator through the ADR Group.

James lives in St Albans with his wife and two children.