James Leslie > Latham & Watkins > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Latham & Watkins Offices

99 BISHOPSGATE
LONDON
EC2M 3XF
England
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James Leslie

Position
James Leslie advises clients on a wide range of UK and cross-border tax matters, including in connection with complex M&A and financing transactions.
James delivers commercially focused tax advice to a variety of clients based in the UK and internationally, including private equity funds, financial institutions, and corporates. He regularly handles complex transactions across industries involving innovative and cutting-edge structures.
James’ work includes advising on the tax aspects of:
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- M&A transactions
- Private equity deals
- Acquisition financings
- Debt and equity capital markets transactions
- Restructurings
Drawing on his broad range of private practice and in-house experience, James brings a firsthand understanding of client needs and delivers complex tax advice in a practical and client-friendly manner.
In addition to his commercial work, James regularly provides tax advice to nonprofit organizations and charities on a pro bono basis.
Lawyer Rankings
London > Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
Latham & Watkins has particular strength in multinational mandates, and advises a prestigious client base on a broad range of complex tax matters. Jointly leading the team are Karl Mah, who has particular expertise in structured finance and real estate matters, and Sean Finn, whose focus is high value M&A and private equity issues. Also leading are Helen Lethaby
, noted for her aptitude in a broad range of transactions as well as matters relating to partnership taxation, and Aoife McCabe, an expert in transactional tax who made partner in January 2024. James Leslie is active for a broad range of clients, including private equity funds, financial institutions, and corporates.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Real estate > Environment
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – mid-large cap
- Risk advisory > ESG
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Fintech: corporate and commercial
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Fintech: regulatory
- Finance > High yield
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: M&A and acquisition financing
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: Project finance and development
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Oil and gas
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£500m+)
- Industry focus > TMT
Firm Rankings
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Finance > Debt capital markets
- Finance > Debt capital markets
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Dispute resolution > Public international law
- Finance > Securitisation
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Finance > Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Finance > Derivatives and structured products
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Insurance > Insurance: corporate and regulatory
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Film & TV
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Media finance
- Real estate > Property finance
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Investment fund formation and management > Fund finance
- Investment fund formation and management > Real estate funds
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Renewables
- Finance > Acquisition finance