About Rob James

A lawyer. Rob recently retired as a partner in the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP law firm, with offices in San Francisco and Houston. He practiced at only one firm, for nearly 44 years, something of a rarity these days. A graduate of Stanford University and the Yale Law School, Rob joined the California and Texas bars. His transactional practice focused on energy and infrastructure project development, construction, and joint ventures.

His exploits in Russia and Kazakhstan on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium were briefly reported as part of an insider’s history (transcript). His work also featured a Van Gogh acquisition, a Brazilian niobium mine, Kurdish farmouts, Indonesia-China natural gas projects, Clean Development Mechanism investments in India, oil and gas mergers, oil, gas, renewable, nuclear, chemical, shipping, water, manufacturing and mining acquisitions, joint ventures and divestitures across the Americas and Europe, children’s art attached to an airship, rapid transit railcar procurement, data centers, counsel in the midst of multiple African civil-war conflicts (including participating in the negotiated release of a hostage), the San Diego Museum of Art, public sculpture installations, the Ansel Adams contact print collection, product placements in a James Bond movie, cruise ship conversions, building marine research submarines, and the contracts for construction of Oracle Park and scores of other facilities.
Thank you, Pillsbury and Pillsbury colleagues and clients!

Rob’s firm resume‍ ‍Rob’s LinkedIn page

A scholar. Rob served as Senior Research Fellow of the Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal at American University. He has lectured and spoken at University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Davis, Stanford University, University of Hawai’i, Northwestern University, University of Texas at Austin, and Texas A&M School of Law. Rob’s academic cv

A civic participant. Rob is a member of the Board of Advisers of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute; a director of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Historical Society; and a leader in Scouting America for the CST3 Council Service Territory serving youth in California and Nevada. He was Chair of the Easter Seal Society of the San Francisco Bay Area (now Easterseals Northern California), serving children and adults with disabilities; President of the Piedmont Scouting Council; Treasurer and Executive Committee member of the Bay Area Council; a longtime member of the Advisory Council of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society; a Bar Association of San Francisco Volunteer of the Month following the Loma Prieta earthquake; an energy industry lead at the Artificial Intelligence Trust Foundation; and the founding pro bono counsel of the California Resilience Challenge, helping localities plan for adaptation to climate change.

A hardware owner. Rob is an elected member of the American Law Institute. He was recognized as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California (SF and LA Daily Journals, 2006). He is a 2026 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Top Author for his widely read energy articles. He has an Erdos Number of 6, meaning that his collaborative scholarly writing is five degrees of separation from the famous mathematician. In 2024, he received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award for lifetime achievements from the National Eagle Scout Association, and in 2026 he received the Silver Antelope from Scouting America for service to youth in California and Nevada. Rob’s “Roasted Eagle” presentation transcript and video‍ ‍Rob’s Silver Antelope presentation

A grounded fellow. Rob lives in Falmouth, Maine, with his wife, Sarah, and their bernedoodle, Figgy. They have two children, Caroline (Portland, Maine) and Stewart (Boston, Massachusetts).