www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 29
"A lot of this
comes down to
understanding the
regulatory restrictions
and structuring with
tax, so there's a lot
of legal involvement
in these new fund
initiatives."
us understand the marketing rules in different
jurisdictions," says Gurney, who works in the
firm's Toronto office. Local counsel also helps to
ensure that internal employee policies are
compliant with different jurisdictions, as
Northleaf has employees in Australia, Canada
and the US and UK.
In the year ahead, Gurney plans to continue
seeking efficiencies for her team to ensure
they are scalable with the growth of the
business and that time is not being spent on
unnecessary processes.
As Northleaf continues to grow with the
through a software portal. The 10-person legal
team has also been committed to supporting
the organization in facilitating global transac-
tions in different jurisdictions — some of which
do not permit e-signatures.
Gurney's team works with external counsel
on every transaction — amounting to around 60
transactions a year, including private equity and
private data infrastructure investments. They
also work with law firm partners on financing
arrangements and credit facilities.
"If we're marketing a fund in jurisdictions
outside of Canada, we use local counsel to help
Katherine Gurney
anticipated launch of new first-time funds on
the horizon, the legal department focuses on
supporting that additional growth and
understanding the regulatory obligations in
different countries.
"Our firm has grown incredibly, so we need
to find efficiencies in how the legal team stays
involved and stays relevant," says Gurney. "I
want to figure out exactly where our value-add
is and to make sure we're spending our time on
the value-add areas and the growth areas. That
has to be done if we're going to keep the growth
going and minimize risk."
NORTHLEAF ARRANGES
CREDIT FOR VETCARE
Vancouver-based
VetCare Canada Inc.
announced in August
2021 that it had raised
up to $175 million
through a senior secured
credit facility, arranged
by Northleaf Capital
Partners. Northleaf acted as the sole
lead arranger. This debt financing will
support VetCare's continued expansion
across Canada to complement its existing
network of practices in Alberta, British
Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec,
and further strengthen its corporate and
operational capabilities that support its
practices and medical teams.
