The firm also relocated a financial markets partner from London to Melbourne
Jones Day has brought seasoned banking and finance lawyer Alastair Gourlay to its financial markets partnership in Sydney.
Gourlay brings over two decades of experience in the field. He has acted for financial institutions, investors, and corporations.
He has tackled cross-border leveraged finance, corporate finance, private credit, funds finance, and real estate finance in transactions throughout the APAC region. Recently, he guided a multi-currency syndicated sustainability-linked loan facility valued at $1.5bn in the healthcare industry, a $1.7bn term loan B acquisition financing facility in the oil and gas sector, and a ~$1bn take-private unitranche acquisition financing for a US-based global sponsor that was supported by various credit funds and financial institutions.
Gourlay has been recognised in the 2024 Chambers Global for acquisition finance and corporate finance, and in the Legal 500 as a leading individual for banking and finance. Additionally, he is listed among the 2025 Best Lawyers in Australia.
He explained that he was drawn to Jones Day because the firm was “ideally placed to advise clients on the ever-increasing private capital flows between the US and Australia”.
London partner moves to Melbourne
The firm also announced that senior financial markets partner Lewis Grimm would transfer to the Melbourne office in August.
Grimm is based in London. He possesses more than 20 years of experience in leveraged and project finance, having worked on significant deals in New York, Europe, and Australia. He has handled domestic and cross-border lending and high yield transactions as well as high-profile restructuring, liability management and bankruptcy matters on behalf of financial institutions and leveraged borrowers.
"Alastair’s arrival in Sydney and Lewis’s transfer to Melbourne are significant events in the planned growth of our transactional capabilities across Australia. These are two premier finance lawyers with robust international experience. They will be excellent additions to our Financial Markets team in Australia", said Christopher Lovrien, partner-in-charge of Jones Day Australia.
