Stanford Law School Tuesday said it has appointed Michael Callahan, general counsel of LinkedIn Corp., as the new executive director of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance and as a law professor.

Callahan, who is still senior vice president and GC at LinkedIn, said in a statement, “I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with the distinguished faculty and staff at the Rock Center. … I look forward to adding value to the Rock Center's ongoing and future initiatives in corporate governance and contributing to the mission of SLS through my experience in the global technology arena.”  He was not available for further comment.

A Stanford representative said Callahan will arrive on campus “in the spring.” Spring quarter classes begin April 2.

The center, officially the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, publishes research and develops tools aimed at a broader understanding of corporate governance, including the Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and the Rock Center Working Paper Series.

It also sponsors the Directors' College and the Stanford Institutional Investors Forum.

“Michael brings to the law school a deep understanding of the practical impact of corporate governance on companies in this global economy,” Elizabeth Magill, the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and dean at Stanford Law School, said in the statement announcing Callahan's hire. “His leadership and experience will be enormous assets to the Rock Center, and we are delighted that our students will benefit from his expertise in the classroom.”

Joseph Grundfest, the W.A. Franke Professor of Law and Business at Stanford and a senior faculty member of the Rock Center, joined Magill in praising Callahan. “It's hard to imagine anyone better positioned to lead us in our next phase of growth, as we tackle issues related to the corporation in society, innovation and regulation, and internationalization of global capital markets. He's a star, and we're lucky to land him,” he said.

The last time Callahan appeared in Corporate Counsel, he was being sued as the former general counsel of Yahoo over a $17 million trust fund created to provide humanitarian aid to Chinese dissidents. The suit alleged that Yahoo, Callahan and others, including a subsequent Yahoo general counsel, allowed much of the money to be squandered.

The last filing in the ongoing case in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia was last October, over motions to dismiss.

Callahan began his legal career as a corporate legal assistant and then an associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in offices in Washington D.C., Boston and San Francisco. He then served a year as manager of business development and corporate counsel with EFI, a computer software company in Fremont, California.

From there he became executive vice president and general counsel of Yahoo for 12 years. Just before joining LinkedIn, Callahan served as executive vice president and chief legal officer of Auction.com for a year and a half.

As for who will step in to fill Callahan's role at LinkedIn, that remains to be seen.