Justin Young is a Partner in Osler’s Emerging and High Growth Companies practice group. His practice focuses on venture financing, mergers and acquisitions and corporate commercial matters for private technology companies.
Justin has acted for hundreds of technology clients across Canada and in the US, from start-ups to listed public companies, as well as many of the leading Canadian and US venture funds. He has acted extensively for entrepreneurs, start-ups and venture-backed technology companies, from start-up through their growth trajectory, as well as venture capital funds, private equity and strategic and angel investors, including on hundreds of venture capital and other private financings raising over $1 Billion since 2005, as well as on IPOs and other public offerings for technology companies.
Justin also frequently advises clients on M&A transactions with a particular focus on the purchase or sale of private Canadian technology companies. He has represented offerors and targets in friendly and unsolicited takeover bids, arrangements, asset sales, amalgamations and share sale transactions, with transaction values ranging from $2 million to $17 billion. Justin also regularly advises clients on various commercial and strategic matters, including corporate governance, company formation, shareholder arrangements, licensing, SaaS, joint ventures and other commercial relationships.
Justin has been involved as a legal partner from Osler for CDL West, a Board Member of Open Angel Vancouver and VIATEC and is counsel to the BC CEO Cleantech Alliance. Justin is named as one of The Best Lawyers in Canada, in the areas of Corporate Law and Technology Law, is recognized by Lexpert in Technology Transactions and is one of the few individually ranked lawyers for Startups & Emerging Companies by Chambers Canada.
Representative Work
- Rhino Ventures
Rhino Ventures as lead investor in MyFO’s $3.5-million Seed funding round
- EPS Ventures
EPS Ventures as investor in Ayrton Energy’s $9.1-million Seed funding round
- Teal Platforms
Teal Platforms in its acquisition by Mercury Technologies
- Raven Indigenous Capital Partners
Raven Indigenous Capital Partners in connection with RUNWITHIT Synthetics’ multi-million-dollar financing round
- Evok Innovations and e-Zinc
e-Zinc in its raising of US$31 million in an oversubscribed Series A2 round led by Evok Innovations
- MarineLabs Data Systems Inc.
MarineLabs in its closing of a $4.5 million seed funding round
- Inverted AI
Inverted AI in its closing of a $5.3 million seed funding round
- Ionomr Innovations Inc. and NGIF Cleantech Ventures
Ionomr Innovations Inc. and NGIF Cleantech Ventures in Ionomr’s $20 million Series A-4 financing round led by NGIF Cleantech Ventures
- Vendasta Technologies Inc.
Vendasta in its acquisition of Broadly
- BOXX Insurance
BOXX Insurance in its raising of US$14.4 million in a Series B funding round
- EVOK Innovations Inc. and BDC Capital Inc.
Evok Innovations Inc. and BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund in connection with Summit Nanotech Corporation’s US$50 million Series A2 funding
- BOXX Insurance
BOXX Insurance in its acquisition of Templarbit
- Vendasta Technologies
Vendasta in its acquisition of Yesware
- Andgo Systems
Andgo Systems in its $5.6 million Series A financing round
- Autozen
Autozen in its $5.1 million seed financing
- Rhino Ventures
Rhino Ventures as lead investor in Contact’s £3 million seed financing
- Certn
Certn in its US$50 million Series B financing round
- Certn
Certn in its acquisition of Credence
- Ionomr Innovations Inc.
Ionomr Innovations in its US$15 million Series A Financing
- Canalyst
Canalyst in its US$70 million Series C financing round
- Vendasta
Vendasta in its acquisition of MatchCraft
- Domain7 Solutions
Domain7 Solutions in connection with Civil Space’s acquisition by Zencity
- Vendasta and CalendarHero
Vendasta and CalendarHero in the acquisition of CalendarHero
- BOXX Insurance
BOXX Insurance in its raising of US$10.1 million in Series A funding
- Rhino Ventures
Rhino Ventures as lead investor in Side Door’s US$3 million seed round
- Echosec in its acquisition by Tusker Fund
- Snapclarity in its acquisition by CloudMD
- Aspect Biosystems in its $26M Series A
- Canalyst in its $20M Series B Financing
- Certn in its $37.3M Series A Financing
- Certn in its $6.1M Seed Financing
- Two Hat in its $7.5M Financing
SELECTED REPRESENTATION
- VFF in various seed investments including its $2 million financing of Pressboard Media and its $3M million financing of Grow Financial as well as its investments in Tutela, Edvisor and ThinkCX
- Pallasite Ventures in various seed investments including as lead investor in financings of Ecoation and EZ-Robot
- Pangaea Ventures in its financings of Aeponyx, Redlen and Airbone International.
- Mobidia in its acquisition by App Annie
- Aspect Biosystems in its seed and institutional financings
- Data Nerds in its $3 million Series A financing
- EVOK Innovations in its investments in Osprey Informatics, Rotoliptic Technologies and Ekona
- M12 in its investments in Element.ai and HYAS Infosec
- Regenurex in its acquisition by Pond Technologies
- Vanedge Capital Partners in several Seed, Series A, Series B and follow-on financings, including its financing of Plotly Technologies and of Privacy Analytics and in the disposition of Playnomics to a strategic acquirer
- TwoHat Security in its Series Seed financing
- Aimsio in its $10 million Series A financing led by STRAIT Capital Corp
- Aida Software in its acquisition by Vision Critical
- NCSoft in its investment in TGS
- Pique Ventures in various Series Seed financings of early stage technology companies
- PrinterWorks in its acquisition by WBM
- Control Mobile in its $1.5 million Series Seed financing
OTHER MATTERS
- Canadian aerospace company in the sale of its U.S. subsidiary and its sale to a Canadian acquirer
- Clean technology company in its bridge loan and in its $5 million Series A financing
- Junior mining company in its acquisition of Canadian uranium assets from a Canadian TSX-listed vendor
- Large multinational energy company in its $200 million disposition of an Alberta-based joint venture manufacturing asset, and the sale of a business line in British Columbia
- Leading Canadian private equity fund in its acquisition of an Ontario-based food products manufacturing company
- Management shareholder of a private equity-backed medical device company in its sale to a large U.S. private equity fund
- Shareholders of an owner management business selling its construction and hospitality assets to a large publicly listed U.S. acquirer
- Toronto-based early stage investment fund in its $1 million convertible note seed financing of a Vancouver-based technology company
- Toronto-based early stage lead angel investor in a convertible debenture seed financing of a Waterloo-based technology company
- Venture-backed company based in Toronto in its acquisition of various related service businesses
Rhino Ventures as lead investor in MyFO’s $3.5-million Seed funding round
EPS Ventures as investor in Ayrton Energy’s $9.1-million Seed funding round
Teal Platforms in its acquisition by Mercury Technologies
Raven Indigenous Capital Partners in connection with RUNWITHIT Synthetics’ multi-million-dollar financing round
e-Zinc in its raising of US$31 million in an oversubscribed Series A2 round led by Evok Innovations
- MarineLabs Data Systems Inc.
MarineLabs in its closing of a $4.5 million seed funding round
- Inverted AI
Inverted AI in its closing of a $5.3 million seed funding round
- Ionomr Innovations Inc. and NGIF Cleantech Ventures
Ionomr Innovations Inc. and NGIF Cleantech Ventures in Ionomr’s $20 million Series A-4 financing round led by NGIF Cleantech Ventures
- Vendasta Technologies Inc.
Vendasta in its acquisition of Broadly
- BOXX Insurance
BOXX Insurance in its raising of US$14.4 million in a Series B funding round
- EVOK Innovations Inc. and BDC Capital Inc.
Evok Innovations Inc. and BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund in connection with Summit Nanotech Corporation’s US$50 million Series A2 funding
- BOXX Insurance
BOXX Insurance in its acquisition of Templarbit
- Vendasta Technologies
Vendasta in its acquisition of Yesware
- Andgo Systems
Andgo Systems in its $5.6 million Series A financing round
- Autozen
Autozen in its $5.1 million seed financing
- Rhino Ventures
Rhino Ventures as lead investor in Contact’s £3 million seed financing
- Certn
Certn in its US$50 million Series B financing round
- Certn
Certn in its acquisition of Credence
- Ionomr Innovations Inc.
Ionomr Innovations in its US$15 million Series A Financing
- Canalyst
Canalyst in its US$70 million Series C financing round
- Vendasta
Vendasta in its acquisition of MatchCraft
- Domain7 Solutions
Domain7 Solutions in connection with Civil Space’s acquisition by Zencity
- Vendasta and CalendarHero
Vendasta and CalendarHero in the acquisition of CalendarHero
- BOXX Insurance
BOXX Insurance in its raising of US$10.1 million in Series A funding
- Rhino Ventures
Rhino Ventures as lead investor in Side Door’s US$3 million seed round
- Echosec in its acquisition by Tusker Fund
- Snapclarity in its acquisition by CloudMD
- Aspect Biosystems in its $26M Series A
- Canalyst in its $20M Series B Financing
- Certn in its $37.3M Series A Financing
- Certn in its $6.1M Seed Financing
- Two Hat in its $7.5M Financing
SELECTED REPRESENTATION
- VFF in various seed investments including its $2 million financing of Pressboard Media and its $3M million financing of Grow Financial as well as its investments in Tutela, Edvisor and ThinkCX
- Pallasite Ventures in various seed investments including as lead investor in financings of Ecoation and EZ-Robot
- Pangaea Ventures in its financings of Aeponyx, Redlen and Airbone International.
- Mobidia in its acquisition by App Annie
- Aspect Biosystems in its seed and institutional financings
- Data Nerds in its $3 million Series A financing
- EVOK Innovations in its investments in Osprey Informatics, Rotoliptic Technologies and Ekona
- M12 in its investments in Element.ai and HYAS Infosec
- Regenurex in its acquisition by Pond Technologies
- Vanedge Capital Partners in several Seed, Series A, Series B and follow-on financings, including its financing of Plotly Technologies and of Privacy Analytics and in the disposition of Playnomics to a strategic acquirer
- TwoHat Security in its Series Seed financing
- Aimsio in its $10 million Series A financing led by STRAIT Capital Corp
- Aida Software in its acquisition by Vision Critical
- NCSoft in its investment in TGS
- Pique Ventures in various Series Seed financings of early stage technology companies
- PrinterWorks in its acquisition by WBM
- Control Mobile in its $1.5 million Series Seed financing
OTHER MATTERS
- Canadian aerospace company in the sale of its U.S. subsidiary and its sale to a Canadian acquirer
- Clean technology company in its bridge loan and in its $5 million Series A financing
- Junior mining company in its acquisition of Canadian uranium assets from a Canadian TSX-listed vendor
- Large multinational energy company in its $200 million disposition of an Alberta-based joint venture manufacturing asset, and the sale of a business line in British Columbia
- Leading Canadian private equity fund in its acquisition of an Ontario-based food products manufacturing company
- Management shareholder of a private equity-backed medical device company in its sale to a large U.S. private equity fund
- Shareholders of an owner management business selling its construction and hospitality assets to a large publicly listed U.S. acquirer
- Toronto-based early stage investment fund in its $1 million convertible note seed financing of a Vancouver-based technology company
- Toronto-based early stage lead angel investor in a convertible debenture seed financing of a Waterloo-based technology company
- Venture-backed company based in Toronto in its acquisition of various related service businesses
Latest Insights
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Osler Update Jun 24, 2021
Federal government opens new agricultural clean technology program to applicants
In their Osler Update, authors Neal Ross, Nathaniel Lipkus, Justin Young, Jacob Young and Tyler Warchola comment on the federal government’s new...
Read more -
Webinar Sep 18, 2020
Canada’s EHG Ecosystem and Opportunities for Asian-Based Enterprises
Please join members of our leading Emerging and High Growth Companies Group for a webinar on Canada's EHG Ecosystem and opportunities for Asian-based...
Read more -
Webinar Nov 2, 2017
Osler National Blockchain & Investment Summit – Panel 1
Join us for an insightful webinar on the future of Blockchain-enabled venture capital investing, the functionality of initial coin offerings and the...
Read more
Awards and Recognition
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Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Recognized in Startups and Emerging Companies
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The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory: Recognized in Technology Transactions; Corporate Mid-Market; Corporate Commercial Law
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Best Lawyers in Canada: Recognized in Corporate Law; FinTech Practice; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Technology Law; Venture Capital Law
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Lexpert Special Edition: Recognized in Technology and Health Sciences
Media Mentions
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Osler News Jun 29, 2023
29 Osler lawyers recognized in Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health 2023
Congratulations to 29 of our lawyers for their inclusion in the Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health 2023.
Read more -
Osler News Apr 19, 2023
42 Osler lawyers recognized by Lexpert as leaders in Finance and M&A
Osler is proud to announce 42 of our lawyers have been recognized as leaders in the Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A 2023.
Read more -
Osler News Nov 23, 2022
Osler clients ranked on Deloitte’s 2022 Technology Fast 50
23 of Osler’s clients have been ranked on Deloitte’s 2022 Technology Fast 50 program
Read more -
Osler News Jun 15, 2022
28 Osler lawyers recognized by Lexpert as leaders in Technology and Health Sciences
The Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health Sciences 2022 recognizes 28 Osler lawyers as leaders.
Read more
Community Involvement
- BC Tech Association, Board of Directors
- Victoria Advanced Technology Council (VIATEC), Board of Directors
- Open Angel Vancouver, Board Member
- North Shore Girls Soccer Club, Volunteer Coach
Speaking and Writing
Speaking Engagements
Published Work
- UBC Sauder School of Business, Guest Lecturer on Venture Finance
- Pacific Venture Capital Competition, Judge (2013, 2014 and 2015)
- Plug and Play Canada, Selection Committee (2013, 2014)
Credentials
Education
- McGill University, B.A. (Distinction)
- University of Toronto, J.D. (Honours)
Languages
- English
Professional Affiliations
- Law Society of Ontario
- Law Society of British Columbia