Juliet Elizabeth Shields

Juliet Elizabeth Shields (8 November 1932 - 11 March 1992) was an Australian lawyer and public servant who worked for the Northern Territory Government for much of her career. In 1978, when the Northern Territory was granted self government she became responsible for the commercial division of the Department of Law where she managed many of the government's major commercial transactions.

Shields was also an active member of the Darwin community and was involved in community theatre.

Early life Shields was born in West Wyalong in New South Wales and was the daughter of Bryan Leo and Mary Monica Baxter and attended school at Brigidine College Randwick where she was the dux of the school. Shields then attended the University of Sydney where she completed a bachelor of laws in 1956 and, following this, was admitted to the New South Wales Bar Association. When she returned to Australia she took a position as a parliamentary draftsman for the Commonwealth Government, based in Canberra. In this role she became knowns as 'Canberra's only woman barrister'.

In Canberra Shields met and married John William Shields, a geologist, on 12 December 1959. They moved together to Darwin, in the Northern Territory, in 1961 where they initially planned to stay two years. Following this Max Ortmann also praised her as a lawyer, a mother and "a fine example to women in the Northern Territory".

Legacy Juliet Shields Park, in the Darwin suburb of Muirhead is named for her.