James graduated from San Diego State University in 1993, receiving a B.S. in Finance with an emphasis in Real Estate. He worked for Grubb and Ellis while in college and moved to East County Properties/ECP Commercial in 1993. He was a sales associate/broker at ECP Commercial from 1993 to 2001. While at ECP Commercial, James was the top producer for 1998, 1999, and 2000.

James founded Inland Pacific Commercial Properties in 2001. From 2001 to 2019, Inland Pacific has been the premier Industrial and Investment brokerage company in East County San Diego. Working with over 20 top associate agents over that period, Inland Pacific has completed over 1.2 billion dollars of commercial transactions which included numerous deals in all parts of San Diego County and additional out of state transactions.

In 2019 Inland Pacific expanded, bringing on one of the top young sales teams in San Diego County, including Chris Nelson, Sam Sukut, Aidan James, and Bailey Blanton while also adding construction, space planning, and property management services.

James is proud to remain involved with his alma mater, SDSU, by donating to and mentoring students through the SDSU Real Estate Society. He is a member of the SDSU Director's Cabinet for athletics. He is proud to serve on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of East County, and during his service throughout the past twenty-plus years, he has helped to build two new clubs, one in Santee and one in La Mesa, California. James is also a past board member of Downtown El Cajon's CDC and helped build the current location of the El Cajon Collaborative, which serves vulnerable populations of East County.