Jones Day announced that Alastair Gourlay has joined the Firm as a Partner in its Financial Markets Practice in the Sydney Office.
Mr. Gourlay is a banking and finance lawyer with more than 20 years of experience representing financial institutions, investors and corporations on complex cross-border leveraged finance, corporate finance, private credit, funds finance and real estate finance throughout the Asia-Pacific region. In recent years, he has advised on an AU$1.5 billion multi-currency syndicated sustainability linked loan facility in the health care industry, an AU$1.7 billion term loan B acquisition financing facility in the oil and gas industry, and an approximately AU$1billion take-private unitranche acquisition financing for a US-headquartered global sponsor, funded by a diverse set of credit funds and financial institutions with a presence in the Asia Pacific region.
“Alastair has deep experience advising clients in leveraged finance, private credit and cross-border financing deals, which are important areas in which we serve our clients worldwide,” said Alban Caillemer du Ferrage, chair of the EMEA and APAC regions of the Firm’s Financial Markets Practice. “It’s my pleasure to welcome him to our Financial Markets team at Jones Day and I look forward to collaborating with him to serve our clients.”
“Alastair is highly regarded in the Australian legal community for his work on a number of high-stakes financing transactions, particularly in the healthcare sector,” said Chris Ahern, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s Sydney Office. “We are delighted that he has chosen to move to Jones Day and look forward to working alongside him here in Sydney.”
Mr. Gourlay earned his Australian legal qualifications from the University of Sydney, his graduate diploma in law from Nottingham Law School and his undergraduate degree in law from the University of Glasgow. He is ranked in the 2024 Chambers Global for Acquisition Finance and Corporate Finance, the Legal 500 as a Leading Individual for Banking and Finance, and among the 2025 Best Lawyers in Australia™.
“I was attracted to Jones Day because, as a global law firm with a strong Australian presence, it is ideally placed to advise clients on the ever-increasing private capital flows between the U.S. and Australia. It is also a firm which is widely respected in our industry for its focus on putting the client’s interests first and protecting a culture of seamless collaboration among their lawyers around the world,” said Mr. Gourlay. “I am excited to work with my new colleagues to serve new and existing clients and to continue to grow Jones Day’s Financial Markets Practice in Australia.”
In addition to Mr. Gourlay’s arrival, Jones Day announced that Lewis Grimm, a senior Jones Day Financial Markets partner in the London Office, will move in August to the Firm’s Melbourne Office. Mr. Grimm has over two decades of leveraged and project finance experience working on marquee deals in New York, Europe, and Australia, and has been recognized by the Legal 500 for Acquisition Finance in both New York and the UK. He represents financial institutions and leveraged borrowers on cutting-edge domestic and cross-border lending and high yield transactions as well as high-profile restructuring, liability management and bankruptcy matters.
“Alastair’s arrival in Sydney and Lewis’s transfer to Melbourne are significant events in the planned growth of our transactional capabilities across Australia,” said Christopher Lovrien, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day in Australia. “These are two premier finance lawyers with robust international experience. They will be excellent additions to our Financial Markets team in Australia, and their arrival is evidence of Jones Day’s commitment to investing in Australia for the benefit of our clients and the Firm.”
With more than 90 lawyers in Australia, Jones Day advises clients in cross-border and domestic M&A and finance work, restructuring, major litigation, arbitration and investigation matters, tax, intellectual property, and competition law, including in the construction, energy, financial, healthcare, and tech industries. The Firm has offices in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.