Upama Poudyal

About Upama Poudyal

Upama Poudyal helps two quite different kinds of clients. One group is registered charities, foundations and not-for-profits, which turn to the associate for tax, governance and regulatory advice, including Income Tax Act compliance. The other is technology companies and startups, many of them venture-backed, that need a hand with equity and debt financings, M&A and day-to-day corporate and commercial work. Commercial real estate deals round out the practice.

Poudyal works out of Gowling WLG's Waterloo Region office and was called to the Ontario bar in 2024, after earlier stints at smaller law firms and in in-house settings. Clients come from many corners, health, long-term care, education and technology among them.

That charity focus shows up outside client files too. Poudyal has co-written several Gowling WLG articles on the law of charities, covering topics like director pay, poverty relief guidance from the CRA and working with non-qualified donees. In February 2025, Poudyal also spoke with partner Gwenyth Stadig at a Waterloo Region Community Foundation Do More Good Dialogue on the CRA's fiscal partnership guidance.

Poudyal graduated with the very first class at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law and was busy there, helping shape several clubs and initiatives there. Poudyal won the school's second annual moot and was named its top oralist, and also set up a program linking the school with a Toronto incubator for legal startups so students could work with young tech companies. Away from work, you'll find Poudyal travelling with friends, at a concert, at the gym, or out with Momo, a golden retriever. Poudyal speaks English and Nepali.