Jim Gaither joined Sutter Hill Ventures in 2000 after working with Sutter Hill for many years as advisor, lawyer, Special Limited Partner and fellow director of portfolio companies.

Jim has been a leading Silicon Valley lawyer and entrepreneur for many years, and helped build his firm, Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, into one of the top technology firms in the country. He is currently on the boards of the following companies: NVidia, Makena Capital Management and SeeSaw Networks. Jim also has active philanthropic interests. He has served as Chairman of the Stanford Board of Trustees, as well as its investment committee, and as Chair of the Stanford Law School's Advisory Council and Capital Campaign. He also served on the Boards of the RAND Corporation and as Chairman of the Board of The James Irvine Foundation. He currently serves on the Board of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and is a former member and past Vice Chairman of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Jim received his BA in Economics from Princeton in 1959 and his JD from Stanford in 1964. Following graduation from law school, he clerked for Chief Justice of the United States, Earl Warren and was a Special Assistant in the Justice Department and Staff Assistant to President Lyndon Johnson before returning to the Bay Area.