Julia

Julia Vergauwen

Investment Funds Counsel, London

"I am an investment funds lawyer with particular focus on ESG funds. By combining my knowledge and experience in funds and ESG I provide tailored and strategic ESG advice to our clients standing by their side during an era where ESG is a critical aspect of their business. I advise asset managers on the set up of flagship sustainable funds with particular focus on real estate and infrastructure and our investor clients on ESG aspects of their fund due diligence."

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

Julia is a counsel in our investment funds practice in London. Before joining our London team in 2019, Julia worked for 6 years in our Luxembourg office. She is a Luxembourg qualified lawyer.

Julia is one of the leading individuals within Linklaters driving the ESG initiative and works on a cross-practice and cross-jurisdictional bases which ensures integrated and holistic ESG advice to major asset management clients covering all aspects of their business. Julia has deep understanding of technicalities of the EU Sustainable Finance initiatives (including the Taxonomy Regulation and the SFDR) and the commercial aspects of sustainable finance. She is an active member of different industry associations and contributes to shaping ESG related regulations.

Her combined knowledge and experience in fund set up and ESG is highly valued by the clients. Julia has been advising large asset managers which are pioneers in the ESG space on the set up of Taxonomy compliant flagship green funds. Making use of her broad market intelligence and orientation of policy makers, she has also been providing strategic advice to large asset managers on their ESG integration project and short, mid, and long-term goals.
Julia has extensive experience in structuring, setting up and mergers of Luxembourg UCITS and AIFs. She is highly regarded by clients for her knowledge and understanding of structured/leveraged UCITS and AIFs. Julia has a profound understanding of the laws and regulations impacting the investment funds sector, such as the UCITS Directive, the AIFMD, the SFTR, the Benchmark Regulation and the GDPR. 

Work highlights

  • Macquarie: advising on the set up of their flagship green infrastructure fund (Article 9 fund)
  • Ashmore: advising on their socially sustainable real estate fund (Article 9) and strategic house advice
  • Aermont: strategic organisational ESG integration and set up of a green fund (Article 8)
  • Barings: strategic advice on ESG integration and advice on numerous product qualification
  • iCapital: bespoke ESG advice on SFDR qualification of several fund of funds 

Professional experience

Before joining Linklaters’ Luxembourg Investment Funds practice as an associate in 2016, Julia was a lawyer at a major international law firm in Luxembourg. Julia was promoted to counsel in 2023.

Education and qualifications

  • Banking law and financial regulation, London School of Economics and Political Sciences, United Kingdom 
  • Corporate and financial law, University of Ghent, Belgium