James L. Waters

James L. Waters is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of KeyCorp and serves as the company’s senior legal officer. He also serves as a member of Key’s Executive Leadership Team and the Executive Council.

James brings more than twenty years of experience in corporate law with a focus on finance. Before joining KeyCorp in July of 2021, James served as Group Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Frost Bank and Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to that, James was a partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP in Dallas. He began his legal career as an associate in the New York office of Shearman & Sterling LLP.

James has lived in Paris, France, and has spent significant time in Mexico and Argentina. He has represented clients in the United States, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Mexico, Panama, Peru, St. Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom, among other jurisdictions.

James previously served on the Boards of the San Antonio Symphony and the Center for American and International Law, as well as the Board of Advisors for the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

James earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Affairs and Comparative Politics (with a concentration in Latin American Studies) from Columbia University and his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. He has been admitted to the bar in Texas and New York.