About Natalie McDowell

Natalie is a corporate lawyer and Senior Associate in the Australia Japan Practice of global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. She advises leading Japanese organisations on the development of new partnerships and investments in Australia across a range of sectors. Natalie has full professional proficiency in Japanese language – having both studied on Japanese government scholarships and practiced as a lawyer in Tokyo – and holds Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 1 accreditation (since 2003).

As a founding member and Australian Chair of the Australia Japan Future Leaders group of over 45 emerging leaders in Australia Japan business, Natalie sits on the Executive Committee of the peak industry body for Australia Japan business, the Australia Japan Business Cooperation Committee. In these roles, Natalie supports the group’s work of nurturing the next generation of leaders of Australia Japan business and bringing a fresh perspective on the opportunities and challenges both countries face in a rapidly changing world.

Natalie has a Bachelor of Asian Studies with First Class Honours and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney. She has co-authored a number of publications on Australia Japan business relations, including "Japanese investment in Australia – Lessons Learnt" (October 2016), "M&A trends 2017/2018 – Japan’s new wave of Investment into Australia" (May 2018) and "Japan Australia M&A: Trends and Review (2017-2019)" (March 2019).