Previous Occupation:

Solicitor - private practice, government and corporate.

Profile:

Marita was admitted to practice in April 1992 after completing Articles of Clerkship at Maddox (formerly Maddock Lonie & Chisholm) and signed the Bar Roll in 2008. Marita read with senior family law barrister Mr Patrick O'Shannessy.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Marita practiced as a solicitor in private practice, government and corporate law for 11 years. For several years she was an Associate lawyer in a busy regional city practice appearing regularly in courts in criminal pleas, family law matters and duty solicitor work. Her practise was predominantly family law, criminal law, and intervention orders.

She has worked extensively with legal aid clientele and women including conducting seminars for victims of domestic violence.

Marita has also spent several years conducting litigation in private practise and advising on commercial law issues.

Marita worked as a legal and policy advisor at Consumer Affairs (formerly Office of Fair Trading) in the Victorian State Government for 5 years managing a major review of the core acts underpinning the fair trading portfolio, and overseeing the enactment of a new Fair Trading Act (1999) and Regulations.

She was responsible for the passage of several Bills through Parliament, their Explanatory Memoranda and Second Reading Speeches; and presented Bills for debate to Parliamentary Committees, and advised the Minister in Parliament during the passage of each Bill.
Marita advised Ministers and Members of Parliament on fair trading and consumer affairs legal issues. She also chaired several implementation committees on Bills which she saw through Parliament.

Marita then spent six months as a Prosecutor in the Magistrates' Court dealing with breaches of acts within the fair trading portfolio.

For several years Marita was corporate counsel with Australia Post as its National Compliance Officer, and provided trade practices and general corporate law advice across the business. She was responsible for the Trade Practices Law program and personally trained hundreds of staff across Australia in trade practices law.

Marita has also worked as a consultant corporate lawyer for a multi-national manufacturing company providing legal advice to business units across the Asia Pacific.

She has co-managed a property development and commercial leasehold company in central Victoria for many years.

Other professional experience:

Volunteer solicitor variously at South Port and St Kilda Legal Services and the former Victorian Immigration Advice and Rights Centre and Refugee Advice and Casework Service over many years;

Duty Barrister in Melbourne Magistrates' Court.