James Spencer

Head of Legal

“

Without a doubt, of all my varied experience during my legal career, I have enjoyed working with early-stage founders and businesses more than anything else. This is where, as an experienced lawyer, I can add value and create the most immediate impact to the growth plans of businesses.

About James

James is the Head of Legal at Crane, having spent the last decade as a UK-qualified solicitor predominantly advising early-stage investors, founders and companies on venture capital fundraising, shareholder arrangements, M&A, exits and other legal issues affecting early-stage companies.

Prior to joining Crane, James spent over 8 years as a senior member of the Corporate team at London law firm, Mishcon de Reya. Within this period, he acted as seconded sole legal counsel to an investment manager, which managed over £12bn of funds.

Most recently James acted as Head of Legal to a family office venture capital investor, investing internationally in companies and funds.

James has also spent time working with tech incubators and accelerators and loves collaborating with founders to bring a pragmatic approach to solving legal issues.

The Crane Team

Krishna Visvanathan

Co-founder & Partner

Bonnie Kraus

COO & Partner

Scott Sage

Co-founder & Partner

Rav Dhaliwal

Venture Partner

Morgane Zerath

Investor

Aneel Lakhani

Investor

James Spencer

Head of Legal

Sam Kester

Investor

Ayala Ples

Head of Platform

Anna Cachadiña Abelló

Analyst

Guy Bentley

Investor

Max Chapman

Investor

Elizabeth Zalman

Founder Advisor

Justyna Skop

Office Manager and EA

Richard Snee

CMO in Residence

Ben Wright

Advisory Partner

Mohan Mahadevan

Advisory Partner

Chris Aniszczyk

Advisory Partner

Zac Dannelly

Venture Partner

Marta Bulaich

Advisory Partner