Katherine is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, specialising in work health and safety law. She has over 18 years’ experience working across all jurisdictions of Australia.
Katherine’s main areas of expertise in health and safety law are:
1. Serious incident response and management;
2. Defence of prosecutions (and other investigatory and enforcement action) and representation in coronial inquiries; and
3. Strategic and compliance advice to organisations and their officers regarding satisfaction of all health and safety legal duties.
Katherine has successfully defended both individuals and corporations in high profile health and safety prosecutions (including for the highest level offences where there is exposure to custodial sentences) and coronial inquiries across Australia. She has experience across a wide range of high safety risk industries including transport, construction and engineering, energy and resources, and real estate.
In WHS law, Katherine is recommended in the global legal ranking publications Chambers & Partners, and Asia-Pacific Legal 500. She has been voted by her peers in Australia’s best lawyers in the category of WHS law.
From your perspective, what is the biggest challenge/key focus in the health and safety industry?
Katherine: Demonstrating accountability, for health and safety risks arising from business activities, to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, including workers’ families and unions
What trends we should expect to see in 2020 within the occupational health space?
Katherine: A strengthening of the investment in mental health and safety
What does health and safety mean to you?
Katherine: It means that business activities do not negatively impact people’s health and safety
What has been one of your most memorable customer success stories and why?
Katherine: There are so many success stories and they are so diverse. Perhaps the striking feature throughout the stories is the immense commitment to health and safety in corporate Australia, and the seismic improvement in health and safety outcomes for workers that has occurred during the last 20 years.
What new projects are you currently working on?
Katherine: We have developed a health and safety podcast and webinar series, which we are really enjoying working on with our clients. We are looking forward to the new ideas, insights and connections it generates.
What do you hope attendees will take away after meeting with you on site at the OHS Leaders Summit Australia?
Katherine: Awareness of the depth of professional legal expertise in specialist health and safety law
ABOUT Norton Rose Fulbright
Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have more than 4000 lawyers based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.
Recognized for our industry focus, we are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions, energy, infrastructure, mining, commodities and agribusiness, transport, technology and innovation, and life sciences and healthcare.
Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of our offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.
