Australia/New Zealand

Overview

Atsumi & Sakai's Australia/New Zealand practice team is led by two partners admitted in Australia who are resident and practising full-time in Tokyo. Both are registered as foreign lawyers in Japan — one currently licensed to practise Queensland law, the other New South Wales and Victoria law. Accordingly, our firm is well-positioned to advise on the laws of New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, as well as Australian federal law.

The practice team provides clients with genuinely integrated advice across both jurisdictions — combining expertise in Australian law with the full depth of Atsumi & Sakai's Japanese law capability, delivered through a single, Tokyo-based team comprising registered foreign lawyers and Japanese lawyers. This eliminates the complexity and burden of instructing separate firms in two countries.

The practice operates under Atsumi & Sakai's foreign law joint venture structure. The fact that registered foreign lawyers serve as partners at our firm reflects the firm's long-standing commitment to substantive international practice.

About the firm

Atsumi & Sakai

Atsumi & Sakai is an independent, multi-award-winning Tokyo law firm with over 200 lawyers and foreign registered lawyers, including 23 partners and associates admitted outside Japan. The firm operates as a foreign law joint venture drawing on the expertise developed through our comprehensive Japanese-law practice and our international practice  — the latter led by a team that includes registered foreign lawyers with backgrounds at some of the world's leading international law firms.

The firm advises a broad range of international and domestic companies, financial institutions, and other businesses across M&A, finance, real estate, disputes, and specialist practice areas including sports law, intellectual property, and luxury and fashion brand law.

Both partners admitted in Australia and registered as foreign lawyers in Japan hold current recognition in The Best Lawyers in Japan, confirming their standing among leading practitioners in their respective fields.

Practice Areas

Core strengths

The Australia/New Zealand practice team and our Japanese-law partners collaborate closely as a team to provide advice across a broad range of practice areas. 

• M&A, Corporate Reorganisation & Joint Ventures
• Inward Investment into Japan
• General Corporate & Commercial Agreements
• Real Estate Transactions & Development
• Hospitality — Hotel Management Agreements & Branded Residences
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Sports Law
• Intellectual Property — Transactions, Enforcement & Protection
• Luxury, Fashion & Lifestyle Brand
• Media & Entertainment
• Data Protection & Cybersecurity
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Labour & Employment Law
• Overseas Disputes & Litigation
• Antitrust Investigations (Overseas)

Track Record

Representative transactions

The following are examples of matters on which members of the Australia/New Zealand practice team and Atsumi & Sakai's Japanese-law partners worked closely together as a team to provide legal advice.

M&A and Corporate

• Advised a leading Australian investment bank on a financial services joint venture with a major Japanese bank.
• Advised an Australian logistics company on the disposal of a non-core Japanese subsidiary business to a local acquirer.
• Advised an Australia-based global network services provider on regulatory and corporate matters relating to establishing business operations in Japan.
• Advised on Japanese government bidding procedures for an Australian product supplier seeking to enter the Japanese market.
• Advised on general corporate and compliance matters for an Australia-based company with ongoing operations in Japan.

Real Estate and Hospitality

• Advised an Australian hospitality group on its debut luxury serviced apartment management project in Japan, including hotel management agreement structuring and related infrastructure arrangements.
• Advised a leading Australian financial institution on its investment in a multi-family real estate portfolio in Japan.

Joint Ventures and Investment

• Advised a leading Australian dairy producer on a joint venture with a Japanese trading house for the importation and distribution of products into Japan.

Sports Law

• Advised global sports rights holders on legal matters relating to major sporting events held in Australia.

Intellectual Property

• Advised an Australian company on intellectual property enforcement matters in Japan, including the protection and assertion of IP rights against infringing third parties.

Data Protection & Regulatory

• Advised international airlines from the Australia/New Zealand region on data protection compliance obligations in Japan and on breach response matters.

Related Professionals

Senior Partner

Ian S. Scott

Partner

Christopher Marc Hodgens

The Team

Ian S. Scott | Senior Partner

Practice Areas: Sports Law; Media & Entertainment; M&A & Corporate Reorganisation; Luxury, Fashion & Lifestyle Brand; Intellectual Property; Australia/New Zealand

Admission: State of Queensland, Australia (1997)

Japanese Registration: Registered Foreign Lawyer (Daini Tokyo Bar Association)  — Laws of Australia, State of Queensland (2012)

Awards: Best Lawyers in Japan — Corporate & M&A Law (2027); Sports, Media and Entertainment Law (2027) Gaming Law (2026). ALB Japan Law Award — Foreign Lawyer of the Year (2021), Legal 500 Asian Pacifc Sports (Hall of Fame) 2026

ANZCCJ: Member, Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan; former Executive Councillor (to 2025)

Christopher Marc Hodgens | Partner

Practice Areas: M&A & Corporate Reorganisation; Real Estate Transactions & Development; Hospitality & Hotel Management Agreements; Private Equity & Venture Capital; Australia/New Zealand

Admissions: State of New South Wales, Australia (1996); State of Victoria, Australia (1996)

Japanese Registration: Registered Foreign Lawyer (Tokyo Bar Association) — Laws of the State of New South Wales (Primary Jurisdiction); Laws of the State of Victoria (Designated Law) (2002)

Awards: Best Lawyers in Japan — Corporate & M&A Law; Private Equity, Private Funds & Venture Capital Law (2026)

ANZCCJ: Member, Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan

Industry Engagement

Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ANZCCJ)

Both partners are members of the ANZCCJ, Japan's principal business organisation representing Australian and New Zealand commercial interests. The firm maintains active working relationships with the Australian and New Zealand embassies in Tokyo, trade and investment commissioners, and the broader ANZ business community in Japan.

Our firm develops and maintains practical knowledge — through ANZCCJ membership and connections with government agencies, trade, and investment networks — in order to provide clients seeking to enter or expand in the Japanese market with advice that is genuinely useful in practice.

Related Practices