Maurice Blackburn

Key practice areas: Class Actions & Major Projects
Qualifications: BA, LLB (Hons), currently completing a Master of International Law
Location: Melbourne (VIC)

Natalie Sheard is a Senior Associate in Maurice Blackburn's major projects and class actions practice in Melbourne.  She is a litigator with more than 15 years experience who has worked in a variety of government and private legal practices.

Natalie joined Maurice Blackburn in 2008 and is currently conducting the Murrindindi Bushfire Class Action.

Natalie has also acted in the:

• Centro Class Action on behalf of almost 1,000 shareholders.  This case settled in June 2012 for $200 million dollars, the largest ever class action settlement in Australia, and
• the Rubber Chemicals Class Action involving an alleged global price fixing cartel.

Before joining Maurice Blackburn, Natalie worked as a senior lawyer for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. She conducted prosecutions of corporations and individuals for serious contraventions of the Corporations Act and criminal law, and acted on behalf of Australia in extradition and mutual assistance proceedings.

Natalie is committed to social justice and human rights and has also worked at a community legal centre on a legal program for indigenous women, and as a senior lawyer at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. In the latter role, she represented the Commission in its intervention in a range of proceedings involving alleged breaches of human rights including the Commission's intervention in the Tampa litigation.

Natalie is the author of the chapter on "Mental Health and the Intellectually Disabled" in the Laws of Australia. She is also a member of Amnesty International.