Jason Kroft

Leading Gowling WLG's Structured Finance and Securitization Group, Toronto-based partner Jason Kroft brings over 25 years of experience in corporate law to provide practical, timely and effective counsel to both domestic and international clients. Focusing his practice on structured and specialized finance, Jason helps a diverse client base—including banks, investment and pension funds, governments, data centre operators and high-net-worth individuals—navigate an array of unique and complex transactions, including in the context of the following areas:

• Public and private asset securitizations
• Investment funds such as social finance and social enterprise funds and private debt funds
• Derivatives products and instruments
• Alternative and specialized finance transactions for originators and borrowers, banks and other lenders, financial intermediaries, trustees and agents, liquidity providers, debt rating agencies, governments and crown agencies
• Energy, commodity and mining products and transactions
• Banking and secured finance, including project finance and private debt funds

Jason has consistently been recognized among the country's leading derivatives and financial products lawyers by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and The Best Lawyers in Canada™, where he was named the 2024 "Lawyer of the Year" in Toronto for Derivatives Law.

As an extension of his corporate law practice, Jason, at the forefront of emerging areas such as data centres, carbon finance and ESG, leads efforts in emissions trading, green bonds and sustainable-linked notes. He routinely counsels a range of carbon market participants, including project developers, operators, lenders and traders. Furthermore, Jason collaborates with boards of directors, C-suite executives and risk management teams to develop and implement strategies addressing challenges and opportunities related to data centre, ESG and carbon finance, mitigating risks of "greenwashing" or "climate-washing" and seizing opportunities in emerging markets. He supports clients in adopting responsible investing practices by advising on:

• Green finance
• Carbon credits purchase, sale, trading, finance and monetization strategies
• Regulations for voluntary and compliance markets
• Structured data centre financing solutions with green loans and Indigenous participation
• ESG matters related to investment funds, private equity transactions, M&A and capital markets
• Corporate governance with respect to public disclosure, investment and governance policies, stakeholder engagement, responses to activism and greenwashing claims

A prolific author and speaker, Jason has published and presented on a range of topics related to his practice, including negotiation and mediation theory, responsible investing, green and sustainable finance, structured products and finance, securitization and derivatives. As a former adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, Jason lectured and taught courses in business and legal topics. He also chaired the Osgoode Hall Law School pro bono business law clinic, Canada's longest running pro bono law clinic.

Outside of his practice, Jason is actively engaged in philanthropic pursuits, currently serving on the board of directors for Save a Child's Heart, where he chairs the Governance Committee.