James M. Hays

James Hays is a partner in the Houston office of Gibson Dunn, where he heads the firm’s Cross-Border Funds practice and is a member of the firm’s Investment Funds Practice Group.

James advises private fund sponsors on the organization and operation of private investment funds, including fund formation, internal arrangements, secondary transactions, and other components of alternative investment management. He has a particular focus on energy and infrastructure sponsors, where he counsels managers including Andros Capital Partners, First Reserve, Intrepid Financial Partners, and Merit Energy across oil and gas, midstream, renewables, energy transition, and related investment strategies. He also frequently advises investors, including publicly traded energy and infrastructure companies, on strategic investments in private funds and private fund sponsors. Beyond energy and infrastructure, James represents sponsors pursuing buyout, credit, real estate, co-investment, and secondaries strategies, and frequently works with managers seeking to organize private funds for the first time.

James has extensive experience with the set-up of alternative investment funds in Luxembourg and the distribution of private funds in Europe. He frequently counsels some of the largest alternative asset managers, including TPG, Leonard Green, and Hunter Point Capital on cross-border fundraising and European regulatory matters, including with respect to the AIFMD, the CBDF, and the SFDR. James is a leading voice in the United States for Luxembourg fund formation and has been sought out by organizations such as the American Investment Council, the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, and the Luxembourg Private Equity and Venture Capital Association to speak on the same. His published works include a series of co-authored articles for The Investment Lawyer on the use of Luxembourg funds, and he lectures at the University of Luxembourg on parallel fund structures. James has been recognized by The Texas Lawyer as a lawyer “On the Rise,” and as a notable practitioner for Private Equity Funds in IFLR1000.

Before returning to private practice, James was a Vice President at Blackstone, where he oversaw legal and compliance for Blackstone Real Estate Partners, one of the world’s largest real estate private equity platforms. In that capacity, he advised on multiple flagship fundraises and co-investments, as well as strategic and regulatory matters across the platform’s global portfolio, spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America.

James received his Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, where he was valedictorian of his class, an Executive Articles and Research Editor of the Brooklyn Law Review, and an International Business Law Fellow. He received his Bachelor of Arts, with honors in the liberal arts, from Southern Methodist University.

Selected Publications

• Co-Author, Gateway to Europe: Establishing a Luxembourg AIFM in 2025, The Investment Lawyer, February 2025
• Co-Author, Raising European Capital Using Luxembourg Structures: A Guide for US Managers, The Investment Lawyer, September 2018 and November 2018

Speaking Engagements and Lectures

• Panelist, Energy Capital Conference 2026, Hart Energy, June 2026
• Panelist, Global Regulatory Trends and Developments, International Bar Association, International Conference on Private Investment Funds, March 2026
• Panelist, How to Launch and Run a Fund in Luxembourg: Lessons from the Field, Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, Roadshow to Houston, November 2025
• Panelist, Operational Aspects of Luxembourg Funds, Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, Roadshow to the USA, May 2024
• Moderator, What Does the Future Hold for Fundraising in an Anti-ESG Environment, International Bar Association, International Conference on Private Investment Funds, March 2024
• Lecturer, Parallel Investment Funds, University of Luxembourg, 2023 to present
• Panelist, Distribution in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, Digi Pulse USA, September 2021
• Panelist, The Luxembourg Perspective on Private Equity in Europe, Luxembourg Private Equity Association, May 2021

Capabilities

• Investment Funds
• Private Equity

Credentials

Education:

• Brooklyn Law School - 2010 Juris Doctor
• Southern Methodist University - 2003 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• New York Bar
• Texas Bar

Clerkships:

• USDC, Eastern District of New York, Hon. Edward R. Korman, 2010 - 2011