MarissaDreher

Marissa has represented local, national, and international companies across all Australian jurisdictions, spanning a wide range of industry sectors, including construction, mining, renewable energy, electrical, manufacturing, rail, waste and recycling, agriculture, food manufacturing, aviation, and transport and logistics. She regularly assists clients in the development of their crisis and incident management protocols and proactive compliance strategies, helps them balance the legal and commercial risks arising from large-scale projects involving multiparty workplaces, and advises them on emerging areas of WHS laws, such as workplace manslaughter laws and psychosocial regulation. 

Drawing on her skills from her previous 15-year career as an educator, Marissa regularly delivers WHS briefings and compliance training to boards and senior executives of major Australian employers. These briefings equip key decision makers with the knowledge and the language of WHS law to more effectively institute organisational change and to demonstrate their own due diligence. Her significant experience in defending criminal prosecutions across a broad range of industries allows her to provide in-depth case studies, tailored to her clients’ industry and relevant to their business. This, together with her interactive and Socratic style, has made Marissa a highly sought-after presenter.

Marissa is particularly known for her extensive experience and strategic thinking when representing clients during regulatory incident investigations, criminal prosecutions, and coronial inquests following serious workplace incidents and fatalities. She also has extensive experience in dealing with regulatory authorities. Through running her own businesses in two different industries, Marissa appreciates the competing interests faced by business owners and the importance of understanding its risk appetite when developing legal strategy. The reputational, operational, and financial implications from these high-stakes matters can be profound for clients, both personally and professionally. They call for legal and jurisdictional insight, business acumen, lateral thought, and strategic agility. Marissa’s strength in litigation strategy is evidenced by her proven track record in successfully defending her clients in often technically complex matters involving multiple defendants, and her ability to tailor the strategy to her clients’ longer-term business needs.

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Our Australian practice operates as Seyfarth Shaw Australia, an unincorporated legal practice. Legal services provided by Seyfarth Shaw Australia are provided only by the Australian legal practitioner partners and employees of Seyfarth Shaw Australia.