MarissaDreher
Partner
Work Health and Safety Law
mdreher@seyfarth.com
Leading employers rely on Marissa for her business acumen, extensive incident response experience, and proven litigation track record to mitigate their WHS legal risk.
More About Marissa
Work health and safety (WHS) legal risk mitigation requires a three-pronged approach: demonstration of proactive legal compliance and organisational awareness, clear crisis and incident management protocols for regulatory investigations into serious workplace incidents, and advanced levels of commercial, strategic, and legal judgement in litigation. With more than 20 years of experience practising exclusively in WHS law, Marissa has extensively advised and represented leading employers on all three.
Marissa 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.
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 their 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. Marissa’s strength in litigation strategy is evidenced by her proven track record in successfully defending her clients in often technically complex matters.
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’ industries and relevant to their businesses. This, together with her interactive and Socratic style, has made Marissa a highly sought-after presenter.
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.
Marissa 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.
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 their 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. Marissa’s strength in litigation strategy is evidenced by her proven track record in successfully defending her clients in often technically complex matters.
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’ industries and relevant to their businesses. This, together with her interactive and Socratic style, has made Marissa a highly sought-after presenter.
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.
- LLB (Hons), Monash University
- An Australian legal practitioner admitted in Victoria
Related Services
Related Regions
- Extensive experience in advising and representing clients during regulatory investigations following serious workplace incidents and the issuing of statutory notices.
- Outstanding track record in defending corporate and individual defendants charged with offences under Work Health and Safety legislation in relation to workplace fatalities and serious incidents across multiple jurisdictions.
- Successfully advised and represented leading companies renewing their Major Hazard Facility licences following regulatory suspension.
- Successfully appealed multiple improvement notices issued to an agricultural company resulting in all notices being cancelled.
- Advised civil construction clients on contractual provisions and Principal Contractor obligations under Work Health and Safety Regulations on large-scale development projects.
- Advised Port Authorities on safety management frameworks and risk matrices for multiparty users.
- Advised various clients on specific regulatory focus areas, such as asbestos and crystalline silica.
- Regularly conduct board briefings and senior executive training on WHS compliance, due diligence, Industrial Manslaughter laws, and psychosocial regulation.
- Served on the board of directors of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (formerly Safety Institute of Australia) between 2016 and 2021.
Related News & Insights
-
Recognition
04/24/2025
Seyfarth Earns High Recognition in 2026 Best Lawyers in Australia
-
Recognition
01/16/2025
Seyfarth Ranked Tier 1 in Labor and Employment in Tier 2 in Workplace Health and Safety in Australia by The Legal 500
-
Blog Post
Mar 4, 2024
The next ten years: Seyfarth’s partners discuss the future of employment and workplace safety law in Australia
-
Blog Post
Feb 28, 2024
A decade in Australia: Seyfarth’s partners reflect on changes in employment and workplace safety law
- Recognised in Best Lawyers Australia for Occupational Health and Safety Law (Woodward/White Inc.) (2024–2026)
- Recognised as a Leading Workplace Health & Safety Lawyer by Doyle's Guide (2019, 2021–2025)
-
Australian Institute of Health and Safety, board member
- Australian Institute of Health and Safety, member
-
Law Institute of Victoria, member
- Co-Author, “The next ten years: Seyfarth’s partners discuss the future of employment and workplace safety law in Australia,” Workplace Law & Strategy, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 5, 2024)
- Co-Author, “A decade in Australia: Seyfarth’s partners reflect on changes in employment and workplace safety law,” Workplace Law & Strategy, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (February 29, 2024)
- Contributing Author, Australian Master Work Health and Safety Guide
- Speaker, "Regulating psychosocial risks under Work Health and Safety/OHS law," HR Law Masterclass Conference Melbourne (2023)
- Speaker, "Mental Health, Psychological Safety and Duty of Care," HR Law Masterclass Conference Melbourne (2022)
- Speaker, "Workplace Incident Response: Options, Alternatives and Insights," AIHS Tasmanian Safety Symposium (2017)
Leading employers rely on Marissa for her business acumen, extensive incident response experience, and proven litigation track record to mitigate their WHS legal risk.
More About Marissa
Work health and safety (WHS) legal risk mitigation requires a three-pronged approach: demonstration of proactive legal compliance and organisational awareness, clear crisis and incident management protocols for regulatory investigations into serious workplace incidents, and advanced levels of commercial, strategic, and legal judgement in litigation. With more than 20 years of experience practising exclusively in WHS law, Marissa has extensively advised and represented leading employers on all three.
Marissa 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.
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 their 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. Marissa’s strength in litigation strategy is evidenced by her proven track record in successfully defending her clients in often technically complex matters.
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’ industries and relevant to their businesses. This, together with her interactive and Socratic style, has made Marissa a highly sought-after presenter.
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.
Marissa 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.
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 their 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. Marissa’s strength in litigation strategy is evidenced by her proven track record in successfully defending her clients in often technically complex matters.
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’ industries and relevant to their businesses. This, together with her interactive and Socratic style, has made Marissa a highly sought-after presenter.
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.
- LLB (Hons), Monash University
- An Australian legal practitioner admitted in Victoria
Related Services
Related Regions
- Extensive experience in advising and representing clients during regulatory investigations following serious workplace incidents and the issuing of statutory notices.
- Outstanding track record in defending corporate and individual defendants charged with offences under Work Health and Safety legislation in relation to workplace fatalities and serious incidents across multiple jurisdictions.
- Successfully advised and represented leading companies renewing their Major Hazard Facility licences following regulatory suspension.
- Successfully appealed multiple improvement notices issued to an agricultural company resulting in all notices being cancelled.
- Advised civil construction clients on contractual provisions and Principal Contractor obligations under Work Health and Safety Regulations on large-scale development projects.
- Advised Port Authorities on safety management frameworks and risk matrices for multiparty users.
- Advised various clients on specific regulatory focus areas, such as asbestos and crystalline silica.
- Regularly conduct board briefings and senior executive training on WHS compliance, due diligence, Industrial Manslaughter laws, and psychosocial regulation.
- Served on the board of directors of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (formerly Safety Institute of Australia) between 2016 and 2021.
Related News & Insights
-
Recognition
04/24/2025
Seyfarth Earns High Recognition in 2026 Best Lawyers in Australia
-
Recognition
01/16/2025
Seyfarth Ranked Tier 1 in Labor and Employment in Tier 2 in Workplace Health and Safety in Australia by The Legal 500
-
Blog Post
Mar 4, 2024
The next ten years: Seyfarth’s partners discuss the future of employment and workplace safety law in Australia
-
Blog Post
Feb 28, 2024
A decade in Australia: Seyfarth’s partners reflect on changes in employment and workplace safety law
- Recognised in Best Lawyers Australia for Occupational Health and Safety Law (Woodward/White Inc.) (2024–2026)
- Recognised as a Leading Workplace Health & Safety Lawyer by Doyle's Guide (2019, 2021–2025)
-
Australian Institute of Health and Safety, board member
- Australian Institute of Health and Safety, member
-
Law Institute of Victoria, member
- Co-Author, “The next ten years: Seyfarth’s partners discuss the future of employment and workplace safety law in Australia,” Workplace Law & Strategy, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 5, 2024)
- Co-Author, “A decade in Australia: Seyfarth’s partners reflect on changes in employment and workplace safety law,” Workplace Law & Strategy, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (February 29, 2024)
- Contributing Author, Australian Master Work Health and Safety Guide
- Speaker, "Regulating psychosocial risks under Work Health and Safety/OHS law," HR Law Masterclass Conference Melbourne (2023)
- Speaker, "Mental Health, Psychological Safety and Duty of Care," HR Law Masterclass Conference Melbourne (2022)
- Speaker, "Workplace Incident Response: Options, Alternatives and Insights," AIHS Tasmanian Safety Symposium (2017)