About Marshall Lawyers

Marshall Lawyers WA is a Western Australian based incorporated law firm. Founded by Chris Marshall in 2018, Marshall Lawyers WA is inherently commercial in nature, leveraging off years of corporate experience in a top tier Australian law firm capacity and 9 years providing in-house legal, company secretarial, commercial and project management services to the current largest mining company in Broken Hill, New South Wales with operations across the Globe.

Day-to-day matters were diverse, ranging from international corporate financing to matters concerning individuals, particularly in terms of their employment.

The social and economic future of our State is strong with a wealth of natural resources, a World class climate, an increasingly diverse culture, and reputable business and community leaders who are passionate about WA.

We share this passion. At Marshall Lawyers WA we pride ourselves on taking a committed and unrelenting approach to delivering the right outcomes. We take a diligent and disciplined approach to all matters – regardless of size and whether they relate to individuals or companies.

Meet the Team

Chris Marshall

LLB FGIA FCIS (Director)

  • Experienced lawyer and company secretary (Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia).
  • Admitted as a lawyer in NSW in December 2007 and as a barrister and solicitor in WA in February 2008. Worked as a Federal Judge’s associate between January 2003 and February 2004.
  • Wealth of mining, transactional, compliance, local and international financing and project development experience gain in both a top tier Australian law firm capacity and in-house lawyer and company secretary for multinational public mining company – including US$60m trade sale of a Canadian Lithium Project in December 2017, successful December 2013 scheme of arrangement in which the public mining company’s major shareholder increased its ownership interest to 100%, and A$102m accelerated non-renounceable rights issue for the same company in late 2011.
  • Considerable litigation/arbitration experience including successful defence of contractor claims, defence of one the first major safety criminal prosecutions under the harmonised Work Health Safety law and Court appearances in Industrial Relations matters (including successful defence of multiple unfair dismissal claims).
  • Experienced contract lawyer and negotiator.
  • Other experience includes property law and conveyancing (including successful delivery of multiple residential multi-unit developments in the Perth metropolitan area), tenement management, immigration law, human resources, shipping law and marketing.
Karl McGrail

LLB MBA GDLP (Lawyer)

  • Admitted Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (April 2023).
  • Previous career highlights include being an owner and operator of a small logistics and distribution business for 18 years.
  • Prior to running a small business, Karl worked as a real estate sales representative (5 years) and spent 10 year working in the travel industry (both in Australia and abroad).
  • Karl’s varied career has resulted in the development of considerable, entrepreneurial, managerial, leadership, problem solving and conflict resolution skills – an asset to a boutique corporate law firm.
Claudia Merenda

LLB (Lawyer)

  • Claudia provides high-level and commercial advice to clients in the mining, energy and resources sector. She has a proactive, pragmatic and collaborative approach to solving legal issues and achieving positive outcomes for clients.
  • Experience in matters related to land access, Mining Act compliance, tenure due diligence, Native Title and heritage advice, and general corporate and commercial advice.
  • Currently pursuing two postgraduate degrees, a Master in Mining and Energy Law from the University of Western Australia, and a Graduate Certificate of Applied Finance from University of New South Wales, to further her knowledge and skills in the financial aspects of the industry.

Let’s talk about how Marshall Lawyers can help you.