James R. McCurdy
James R. McCurdy
Adjunct Professor
J.D., University of Texas at Austin School of Law, 1974
B.A., University of Houston, 1970

Professor McCurdy began teaching in 1977, after practicing in the Indian law, natural resources, and environmental law fields. He represented several Indian tribes in major litigation and intergovernmental negotiations. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law in the Center for Sports Law & Policy at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, teaching Professional Sports Law among other courses. He is also Professor Emeritus at Gonzaga University School of Law.

 

He is the author of the mineral rights chapter in a legal treatise and has worked on special projects with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He is co-author of an innovative casebook, Sports Law: Cases & Materials (5th ed. 2003). He has served as president of the Pioneer Baseball League, and been a member of the Council of League Presidents for minor league baseball.

 

Prof. McCurdy was appointed by the governor of Washington to represent the state on the Environmental Improvement Basin Commission, which is charged with implementing the Superfund cleanup plan for the Coeur d’Alene Basin. He has a special interest in mediation of disputes and serves as a member of the Board of Directors, Northwest Conflict Management Center.

Scholarships

BOOKS

Sports Law: Cases & Materials (with Ray Yasser, C. Peter Goplerud, and Maureen Weston) (7th ed. LexisNexis 2011)


ARTICLES, BOOK CHAPTERS, AND ARTICLE-LENGTH WORKS

Thunder on the Road from Seattle to Oklahoma City: Going from NOPA to ZOPA in the NBA, in Legal Issues in American Basketball ch. IV (Lewis Kurlantzick ed., Academica Press 2011)

The Fundamental Nature of Professional Sports Leagues, Constituent Clubs, & Mutual Duties to Protect Market Opportunities: Organized Baseball Case Study, in Legal Issues in Professional Baseball ch. IV (Lewis Kurlantzick ed., Academica Press 2005)

Presentations

Professional Sports Leagues in the Shadow of the Law, Tacoma Pierce County Bar Association “Annual Baseball & the Law” CLE, Tacoma, WA (June 28, 2013)

Professional Sports League: the Theory of the Commons, Sports Law Scholarship and Teaching Colloquium , Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, WI (September 27, 2007)

Expertise

Sports Law & Policy