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March 14, 2019Member Spotlight: Marissa Wiley, Partner, Nixon Peabody LLP
Marissa Wiley has experienced everything the state of New York has to offer—from an Orange County childhood to college at Vassar, then law school at Hofstra University to a high-stakes Manhattan law practice. When the time came to put down permanent professional roots, she chose Albany.
Marissa, who moved to the Capital Region from New York City in 2014, is part of a diverse new class of partners at the global law firm Nixon Peabody. The firm has five offices in New York and 17 throughout the world. Marissa is a key member of Nixon Peabody’s corporate practice group, focusing primarily on mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the health care sector.
“We’re seeing a lot of consolidation in the health care industry,” Marissa observes. “Powerful players are merging with each other and acquiring smaller firms. There is a lot of external pressure to make moves that will create new efficiencies.”
Marissa chose Albany because she wanted a more reasonable pace of life without sacrificing the opportunity to do exciting work.
“Albany has a very robust economy,” Marissa said. “A lot of people from outside the state don’t realize that—they only think of New York City. But we have a tech entrepreneurship movement that’s second only to Silicon Valley. We have health care, biotech, manufacturing, and government. There’s a lot of activity.”
Marissa has built up her practice by reaching out to key players in Albany’s thriving industries. “I’ve been on a path of constant progression with my practice,” she said. “At first, you are the stranger in the room at networking events, but I’ve been able to make great connections. Very quickly the names and faces become more familiar, and the business community starts to know me, as well.”
The new class of Nixon Peabody partners is very diverse—60 percent are women or minorities. Marissa is a co-chair of the firm’s LGBTQA resource group, which works to ensure equal opportunity and representation in the workplace.
Away from the office, Marissa enjoys taking advantage of the area’s natural beauty—hiking, skiing, kayaking, or running on the Mohawk River bike path.
Nixon Peabody and the Capital Region strike the perfect balance for Marissa. Both are dynamic, diverse and highly connected across the globe.
“I am very excited to expand my involvement with the Chamber to grow my network and strengthen my relationships in this area,” added Marissa. “In particular, I am very much looking forward to participating in the Chamber’s Inside Capital Region program.”
Check out this video from Marissa Wiley where she explains why she expects to see more consolidation of health care related companies in 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60f2BQfcQxw&feature=youtu.be
