Alan James

About Alan James

Alan James is a Toronto partner at Gowling WLG whose practice centres on investment funds. Fund managers bring Alan in to set up new vehicles of every kind, from venture capital and private equity to infrastructure and real estate, and those funds usually draw their money from investors in many countries. On the other side of the table, Alan helps Canadian pension funds, insurers and other institutions work out how to structure the commitments they make to funds, at home and abroad.

Alan earned a commerce degree at the University of Toronto and a law degree at Queen's University, then was called to the Ontario bar in 1999 and to the New York bar a year later. At Gowling WLG, Alan sits in the Private Equity Group. The work reaches well past launching a fund: co-investments, secondary deals where fund interests change hands, credit lines backed by investor subscriptions and carried interest structures are all part of it. Alan's areas of focus also take in technology, fintech, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and gaming and contest law.

Chambers Canada has ranked Alan for seven years in Investment Funds: Fund Formation, and Best Lawyers has listed Alan for Private Funds Law since 2024. Mandates have included forming McRock Fund III, a venture fund aimed at digital industrial innovation, and acting for the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) when it co-invested in euNetworks alongside Stonepeak.