James Shaw > Withers LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Withers LLP Offices
20 Old Bailey
LONDON
EC4M 7AN
England
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James Shaw
Work Department
Corporate and tech
Position
James is a partner in the corporate team and a leading transactional venture capital lawyer, advising entrepreneurs, companies and investors through the funding life-cycle.
James is a partner in the corporate team and a leading transactional venture capital lawyer, advising entrepreneurs, companies and investors through the funding life-cycle.
He was the co-founder of tech law firm JAG Shaw Baker which merged with Withers to create a new legal offering, Withers tech, in 2018.
James has two decades of experience helping entrepreneurs, high-growth technology based companies and investors navigate their way through multiple rounds of financing, growth, scale-up and exit/liquidity events. He’s ranked as a recommended lawyer for Venture Capital in the 2017 edition of the Legal 500.
As a close adviser to many companies and investors, James also acts as Outside General Counsel to a number of innovative science-based companies and is an adviser to Parkinson’s UK Biotech Business Group.
And through the combination of innovation and other practice areas, James is helping to drive firm-wide Global initiatives to address the rapidly changing landscape of more traditional sectors such Real Estate, Hospitality, Sports and Fashion and Luxury Brands.
James is a graduate of both St Andrews University (BSc Hons) and Edinburgh University (LLB), and is passionate about innovation and the environment. As a Scottish qualified lawyer, James also holds a committee position on the Society of Scottish Lawyers in London and is a Writer to Her Majesty’s Signet.
Career
Partner
Lawyer Rankings
East Anglia > Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Cambridge
The Cambridge office of Withers LLP is the firm’s UK life sciences hub and clients note that ‘the corporate team has deep specialist knowledge of venture capital transactions in the technology sector’. The Cambridge team consists of lead partner Susanna Stanfield, who has ‘deep specialist knowledge in venture capital transactions and is an authority in the field‘, and senior associate Mary Harley. They work closely with IP specialist Richard Penfold and venture capital expert James Shaw, who both work in Cambridge and London, as required. Stanfield advised biotech research firm Kynos Therapeutics on its spin-out from the University of Edinburgh and its £9m financing round.
London > Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
(Leading individuals)Although it has taken a while for the legacy JAG Shaw team to bed into their new surroundings at Withers LLP, the team has now well and truly found its footing, leveraging the firm’s strong private wealth credentials to good effect, as well as drawing upon its international footprint and broader full-service offering. This consolidated offering has proved very effective for early stage companies, in particular, as they scale up and require not only pure VC advice but also a range of commercial, employment and tax counselling. Drawing upon a ‘deep understanding of the early-stage and scale up ecosystem’, team head James Shaw is a ‘fantastic all-round trusted adviser’, whose underlying tech and science sector knowledge combines with transactional prowess to good effect for companies looking to scale up and for university spin-outs. In Cambridge, Susanna Stanfield ‘brings a calm presence to discussions and negotiations’ for both high-growth companies and investors in the life sciences and technology sectors. The ‘brilliant’ Sarah Melaney, who joined the firm at the beginning of 2022 from Brown Rudnick LLP, further enhances the firm’s transatlantic capabilities and ‘delivers first-class work’ for high growth companies and investors, including in relation to impact investment. The team is rounded out by Iain Cockburn, who ‘is driving forward the firm’s innovation and cost-efficiency and data management using legal tech’, in his new role as head of the client delivery programme.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading individuals London > Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Venture capital London > Corporate and commercial
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Agriculture and estates
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Private client > Court of protection
- Private client > Family
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Employment > Senior executives
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Private client > Family: mediation
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Smaller Deals, £10m-£100m
- Dispute resolution > Public international law
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Real estate > Residential property
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Public sector > Education: institutions
- Public sector > Education: schools
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Employment > Immigration
- Insurance > Professional negligence
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Employment > Employers
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)