Follow your passion, urges lawyer
Govett Quilliam’s new partner shares career advice
Ellie Wilson is a very busy woman. Firstly, there is her day job as a lawyer in the family and litigation departments at Govett Quilliam, where she has a particular passion for, and interest in, health law. That passion is something she is always keen to share with others, and she hosts a quarterly medico-legal discussion group at Govett Quilliam open to anyone interested in the intersection between health and the law.
Outside work, Ellie is a board trustee for the Little Miracles Trust (formally the Neonatal Trust), and sits on the Clinical Ethics Advisory Group at Taranaki Base Hospital as well as being a member of the NZLS Health and Disability Law Reform Committee.
Last year, Ellie was named by NZ Lawyer as a top female lawyer in New Zealand, something she says was “both a delight and very flattering”.
Ellie is also a mother of two young boys, who she is enjoying exploring Taranaki with, since moving to the region in 2022.
Now she also has a new role to fit in her busy life: partner at Govett Quilliam.
Her appointment to partner, announced last Friday — International Women’s Day — brings the law firm to gender parity in terms of partners.
That’s not actually the first time it’s
happened, she says.
“A couple of years ago there were more women partners than men partners. So it’s not the first time, it just happens that since that point, the next few appointments were male so the balance tipped back.”
For a woman, Govett Quilliam is a great place to work, says Ellie.
“The culture here at the firm is one that really cares for its people, clients, staff, partners, everyone. That might sound cliched, but it’s really true. In
my time here I have seen how everyone really does walk the talk.”
Working for a company that is family-friendly, supportive, and values equality makes it easier for more women to find success there, she says.
“There are so many women in leadership roles at Govett Quilliam; I think that really says something about the firm. It also makes it easier for women to work here, to balance being working mums, because it’s not
unusual.”
While Ellie is passionate about her work, becoming a lawyer wasn’t always a plan, she says.
“I thought I was going to be a doctor when I was a teenager.”
After taking some biomedical papers, however, she was less sure.
“I wasn’t enjoying them, and was reconsidering.”
A chance outing to the movies gave her a new focus.
“I went to the movies over the university break. There was a woman in it, her character was a lawyer, and I remember thinking, there’s an idea, a job I could do.”
It’s not a decision she regrets, and with Govett Quilliam’s commitment to empowering women in the workforce and a focus on equity, it’s a career path she hopes to see more women consider.
For Ellie, being able to combine her interests in law and health makes for a fulfilling career.
“My first job was with John Miller, who is an excellent ACC lawyer amongst other things, and that started me in this direction. In my job I cover all sorts, from ACC issues to ethical issues. I deal with things like the triple PR act (Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act), the capacity for people to make decisions about their health, the Coroner’s Court; it’s varied and very interesting.”
There’s a lot of pressure on teenagers to decide on career paths, and Ellie says she encourages young women to be confident in their selves when finding their passion.
“It’s amazing to me what you can tease out when you just follow your nose a bit. When I was at school, I didn’t know I wanted to be a health lawyer; that came when I followed my interests. I am so glad I stuck with it.”
Women of all ages, and at all stages of their careers, face a lot of pressure, she says.
“There is this pressure on women to be everything. We are told we can do anything, but there is a real risk we then find ourselves trying to do everything. We can do it all, but not all at once.”
Instead, she says, women should treat life like a marathon.
“Let it unfold at a pace you can manage and enjoy.”