Scott James joined the law school as the founding executive director of the new Private Capital Initiative (PCI), a program of the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance focused on the fast-growing private capital ecosystem and its legal, governance, and policy implications.

“I have spent my career inside the private capital ecosystem, working with funds, founders, operators, and regulators as these markets have exploded in scale, complexity, and importance,” James says. “Joining Stanford to help build PCI is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shift my focus from the day-to-day work of private capital and help create a platform that can support the ecosystem with independence and practical insight.”

Most recently, James was a partner and chief operating officer at Goodwater Capital, where he led firm operations and strategic initiatives spanning fundraising, investing, portfolio management, and liquidity. He continues to serve the firm as a venture partner.

Earlier in his career, James held senior legal roles at Accel and DCVC and practiced at Gunderson Dettmer, advising startups and venture capital firms on financings, M&A, capital markets transactions, and corporate governance. He also taught as an adjunct professor at UC Law San Francisco and Berkeley Law and served in leadership and advisory roles with several business law and venture capital organizations. SL