Shelley Ann Quilty-Lake Bio

Name:
Shelley Ann Quilty-Lake

Location:
New York City

Biography:
Shelley Ann Quilty-Lake hails from Mayglass in Co. Wexford and is currently a Partner at Meenan & Associates, LLC.
An experienced litigator with respect to addressing employees’ workplace issues and disputes, Shelley Ann also assists with negotiating employment agreements, compensation packages and severance agreements.

She provides guidance to small business owners and start-ups, as well as being a seasoned litigator in estate matters, representing fiduciaries, heirs and beneficiaries in the Surrogate’s Courts across New York City. She is regularly appointed by the Courts as a Guardian Ad Litem to represent parties in an array of estate matters and also guides clients in preparing wills and trusts .

Shelley Ann has been a long-time member of the Irish Business Organization of New York (IBO), has served as its Treasurer, and for the past two years has served as its First Vice President. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Irish American Bar Association of New York (IABANY).

In February 2019, Shelley Ann was an Irish Echo 40 Under 40 honoree and was bestowed with the Justice Ambassador award. Every year, from 2016 through 2019, she has been selected as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Employment Litigation: Plaintiff for the New York Metro area.

She is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, obtained a Master’s degree from Boston College, and her law degree from the City University of New York.

What, for you, is the importance of our global diaspora and how do you contribute to its success?
Our global diaspora is vitally important. Not only is our international reach such an asset as it gives us a presence everywhere, but it is the qualities the diaspora brings to bear that are so advantageous too. We are smart, diligent, hard-working, welcoming, and our good humour is invaluable in helping us to create and enhance business connections and opportunities. I have met so many people of Irish heritage here in the US who are only too happy to facilitate a connection or relationship to help another member of the ‘tribe’ to secure opportunities.

I’m honoured to be a part of the global diaspora and strive to be a conduit to provide opportunities to fellow members, primarily through my involvement with the IBO. I’m also very proud to serve as Chairperson of the IBO Women’s Networking Committee, an initiative launched last year and has – from its inception – been effective in helping foster connections and opportunities for women from a diverse array of sectors and backgrounds.

Tell us how you connect to Belfast:
I have many fond memories of Belfast from playing hockey games there and spending time socializing with my Belfast teammates and friends in the city. As Belfast was the preeminent place to play when it came to hockey, I always associated it with being a top-notch place where you had to be on your ‘A game’ to compete .

You know you’ve got Belfast heritage when…:
You use any and every opportunity you can to “do” a Belfast accent when telling a story to make it more compelling.