MinterEllisonRuddWatts Partner Stacey Shortall honoured as distinguished alumni by Victoria University of Wellington MinterEllisonRuddWatts Partner Stacey Shortall honoured as distinguished alumni by Victoria University of Wellington -

MinterEllisonRuddWatts–MinterEllisonRuddWatts Partner Stacey Shortall has joined Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington’s distinguished alumni, after being named as a Distinguished Alumni Award winner – one of only six selected in the biennial award process.

Award recipients are chosen based on making positive impacts in their communities and beyond, and their achievements are outstanding examples of what graduates from Victoria University of Wellington can aspire towards.Stacey has been recognised for both her leading legal expertise and as a change advocate in New Zealand.Stacey is an internationally recognised litigation lawyer having worked in both New York and New Zealand.

She has more than 25 years’ experience successfully representing corporate clients and public sector entities, together with directors and officers, in significant litigation and regulatory disputes.She has received numerous awards for her community-based work in New Zealand. Stacey is the founding trustee of the Who Did You Help Today? charitable trust which has developed a number of projects designed to create social change including homework clubs in low decile primary schools, a programme connecting imprisoned mothers with their children and an online digital platform enabling community causes to access skilled volunteers.

She is also the founder of Our Words Matter which is an online forum for sharing ideas to solve issues that affect New Zealand.Stacey has also been recognised as a Blake Leader, a Women of Influence Award winner, a Kiwibank Local Hero award recipient and has twice been a semi-finalist for the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year.

In 2020, Stacey won the inaugural Chambers Diversity and Inclusion Awards: Asia-Pacific Social Mobility Lawyer of the Year for her pro bono work.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented at a function in Wellington during the University’s December 2021 graduation week.