Stacey Shortall named as a Blake Leader

Partner Stacey Shortall named as a Blake Leader by Sir Peter Blake Trust

Our congratulations to Stacey Shortall, who has been named as a Blake Leader at the prestigious 2016 Blake Leadership awards.

Blake Leaders are selected based on the criteria of demonstrating outstanding leadership, the ability to build and lead successful teams, a commitment to New Zealand and they display some of the characteristics that Sir Peter Blake himself embodied. There are only 6 Leaders and 1 medallist selected each year.

Stacey has been recognised for showing leadership over the years in her pro bono, charitable and legal endeavours.

Some of Stacey’s recent community initiatives include establishing a Homework Help Club at Holy Family School in Wellington, which model has now been rolled out to around 10 other schools in New Zealand and is continuing to spread. Another of Stacey’s initiatives is the Mother’s Project at Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility, which seeks to assist imprisoned mothers maintain meaningful connections with their children. Stacey has also started an organisation called ‘Who did you help today?’ which seeks to connect skilled people who want to volunteer their time with not-for-profit community projects.

As an internationally recognised lawyer, Stacey has over 20 years legal experience successfully leading teams in representing financial institutions, large corporate clients, public sector entities and directors & officers in significant litigation and regulatory matters.

No stranger to high profile legal work, Stacey's won widespread respect for her representation of certain directors and officers of Pike River Coal in the numerous investigations following the November 2010 mining disaster, including at the Royal Commission of Inquiry. Since returning to New Zealand after spending 11 years as a Wall Street litigator Stacey has also handled matters including the collapse of finance companies and litigation resulting from the Christchurch and Wellington earthquakes.

There is a bigger spotlight on health & safety now and Stacey is helping drive various initiatives such as training, risk analysis tools and the publication of health and safety toolkits intended to help ensure New Zealand workplaces are safer and those responsible know their responsibilities. Stacey has also recently co-written a bestselling book with a colleague for Thomson Reuters about the new Health & Safety at Work Act in New Zealand.

Chair of MinterEllisonRuddWatts Cathy Quinn said, "Stacey has an almost uncanny ability to inspire others with a vision which becomes a shared goal. She has a supremely solution-focussed approach to identifying and addressing needs. For clients, staff and in her pro bono work, she creates a coherent vision of how to make things better. Secondly, her phenomenal emotional intelligence enables her to convey her vision to those around her. And thirdly, she has an apparently limitless amount of energy, generosity and enthusiasm. We are very proud of Stacey and what she has achieved."

Stacey Shortall said, "It is a real honour to receive this award especially given the great legacy of Sir Peter Blake. While I may be an award recipient, the volunteers at Homework Help Clubs and with the Mothers Project, including from MinterEllisonRuddWatts, are equally deserving of any praise. Without their generous support, such initiatives would not be sustainable.

"But most importantly, I want to recognise all the unsung leaders in our country, many of whom work quietly in poorer communities and in our schools to truly make a difference. They are often on the front line where the struggles that many in our country face are most challenging. Their names may not be widely known, but their leadership impact is immeasurable and I wish to thank them for their tireless work to lead New Zealanders to better lives."

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