John McLean

John McLean

Senior Consultant

Phone: 

07415 357 038

Email: 

John.mclean@ignition.law

LinkedIn: 

@John-mclean
@John-mclean
John is a corporate tax solicitor with more than 20 years’ experience. Having spent 6 years in private practice in London, John moved to Abu Dhabi, where a brief secondment to Mubadala Investment Company became a decade in-house, latterly as Senior Vice President of Taxation at Mubadala Capital, supporting the business across a diverse range of M&A and funds matters.
More recently, John worked as Tax Director at Binance, the world’s largest digital assets exchange, where he oversaw global structuring and M&A. Now based in Australia, John supports Ignition’s clients in matters from employment tax and incentive schemes to equity rounds, VAT and M&A transactions.

 

Relevant experience includes:

  • Closed the largest secondary staple PE fund transaction ever completed, a c$2.5bn secondary fund with $1.5bn stapled primary commitment, in a first-of-kind transaction for Mubadala
  • Closed Mubadala’s US and European venture capital funds and Brazilian PE fund
  • Divestment of EMI Music Publishing to Sony ($2.3bn)
  • Negotiated Mubadala’s $15bn commitment to the SoftBank Vision Fund
  • Oversaw tax issues relating to new office build-outs in New York, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong and Moscow, including management of permanent establishment risk and transfer pricing
  • Formation of Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, a $1bn fund focused on attracting top tier investment firms and businesses to Abu Dhabi Global Market
  • Acting for Ford Motor Company on the sale of Volvo Car Corporation for $1.6 billion to a sovereign state-backed SPV structure.

Fine Print

Eduction, Training & Career

I graduated with a BA in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford. Trained and qualified at Baker & McKenzie LLP, then Hogan & Hartson LLP and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Before joining Ignition I spent several years in-house at Mubadala Investment Company.

Outside of Work

I try to juggle the occasionally conflicting demands of enjoying as much time as possible with my young family, and training for triathlons, where I am gradually chipping away at my half-Ironman personal best and completed my first full Ironman in Copenhagen in 2018. On the rare occasion I have time left over, I can typically be found by the fire with a book in one hand and a Scotch in the other.

A social cause I care about

Climate change – a civilizational existential crisis.

What People Say

Ignition advised Vox Financial Partners in their successful acquisition by Treliant, a US buyer. Vox was a global firm with multiple entities in three different jurisdictions, making it a complex deal to navigate. Ignition worked very well with our US legal team, and were responsive, diligent, and thorough in all their work; I also felt they “had our back” and were always looking out for our best interests. Where they most impressed was with their commercial-minded thinking: they displayed a great ability to clarify legal concepts for the non-lawyer and then to suggest practical approaches to break through barriers. And they’re good people! We truly enjoyed working with Phil, Lauren, John, and Elizabeth.
Colin Reid
Colin ReidChief Strategy Officer
Ignition Law have been very easy to work with and diligent in their processes to ensure client interests were paramount in our deal. I look forward to working with John and the team again in the future
Hassan Akhtar
Hassan AkhtarCBD Capital

News, Insights & Resources
Blog

Ignition Law welcomes Isabel Ward to its Corporate Team

Ignition Law is delighted to welcome Isabel Ward as a Paralegal in the firm’s Corporate Team. Isabel joins Ignition following outstanding academic success, including a First-Class degree from University College London, a distinction in her MA Law conversion course and passing SQE1 on her first attempt. Drawn to Ignition’s entrepreneurial approach, ethical values and commitment to innovation, Isabel is particularly interested in the intersection of law and artificial intelligence and looks forward to supporting clients through all stages of their growth journey.

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21st August 2026