Lawyer, Partner at Meredith Connell and cross-cultural business expert

Overview

Royal Reed is one of New Zealand's best-known cross-cultural lawyers and a leading voice on doing business with China. A Partner at Meredith Connell, founder of Prestige Law and a Taiwanese-New Zealand businesswoman, she has spent more than two decades helping clients and companies navigate the legal, cultural and commercial space between Aotearoa and Asia.

Who is Royal Reed? Royal moved from Taiwan to New Zealand and built her career as a litigator and adviser specialising in cross-border and cross-cultural disputes. She founded boutique firm Prestige Law in 2006 before merging the practice into national litigation firm Meredith Connell as Partner in 2020. Fluent in Mandarin, her advocacy has led to landmark decisions including the NZ Court of Appeal's first recognition and enforcement of a Chinese judgment. She is on the board of Kea New Zealand and a founder of "On Being Bold".

Career Highlights • Partner at Meredith Connell since 2020 • Founder of Prestige Law in 2006 • Led the case that resulted in the first NZ Court of Appeal recognition of a Chinese judgment • Board member of Kea New Zealand and founder of On Being Bold • LEADR-accredited mediator and Member of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of NZ • Frequent contributor to Chinese-language radio, TV and online media in NZ

Key Speaking Themes • Doing business with China and Chinese consumers • Cross-cultural communication and identity • Women in business and migrant women in leadership • Disputes, mediation and the New Zealand legal system • Resilience, learning from mistakes and rebuilding

What Your Audience Will Gain Royal is direct, generous and uniquely placed at the intersection of two cultures. Audiences leave with sharper insight on engaging Chinese consumers and partners, and a fresh perspective on what migrant women bring to leadership.

Ideal For • Business, legal and trade conferences • Diversity, equity and inclusion events • Women in business and International Women's Day • Luxury, retail and consumer events • Universities, schools and migrant community programmes

Frequently Asked Questions...

What does Royal Reed speak about? Doing business with China, cross-cultural communication, women in business, dispute resolution and resilience.

What is Royal Reed's role at Meredith Connell? She is a Partner specialising in civil litigation, relationship property, cross-border enforcement and disputes involving Asian clients.

What is Prestige Law? The boutique law firm Royal founded in 2006, which merged into Meredith Connell in 2020.

What landmark case is Royal Reed known for? Her advocacy led to the NZ Court of Appeal's first recognition and enforcement of a Chinese judgment.

What is On Being Bold? The online collective Royal helped found that captures the personal life journeys of prominent New Zealand business women.
Is Royal Reed available for keynotes and panels? Yes. Royal is regularly booked for keynotes, panels and workshops on China business, cross-cultural communication and women in leadership.