Caitlin Shortell

Caitlin Shortell is a highly dedicated attorney who passionately advocates for her clients and the rights of all individuals in Alaska. As the founder of Shortell Law, LLC, in Anchorage, Alaska, she focuses her practice on:

• Labor and employment litigation
• Business acquisition, organization and litigation
• Human Resources legal advice, training to businesses clients
• Personnel Investigations
• Mediation and Arbitration

Ms. Shortell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating cum laude in 1995. She went on to obtain her Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston in 1999.

Ms. Shortell's work experience is diverse and extensive. She started her legal career with a judicial externship under Honorable Judge Maxine Chesney at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Following that, she served as a judicial clerk for Honorable Judge Stephanie Joannides at the Anchorage Superior Court in Alaska.

Upon returning to Alaska in 2003, Ms. Shortell held positions such as assistant public defender at the Alaska Public Defender Agency, assistant attorney general at the Alaska Attorney General's office, and human rights advocate at the State of Alaska Commission for Human Rights. Since establishing her private practice in 2009, Ms. Shortell has achieved significant victories in civil rights cases and notable achievements in employment law. Ms. Shortell is a tireless advocates for individual employees and groups of individuals who have experienced discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual violence, retaliation, and unfair treatment in the workplace. Ms. Shortell is an experienced litigator in state courts, federal courts, in EEOC, and other administrative proceedings. 

In 2023, the National Trial Lawyers identified Ms. Shortell as one of the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Alaska.

Ms. Shortell is also trained as a mediator, certified in transformative mediation from the Center for Dispute Resolution. As a mediator, helps individual, business, and organizational clients resolve their legal disputes both as a mediator and as counsel.

Ms. Shortell has been instrumental in landmark LGBTQ rights victories, serving as plaintiff's counsel in the case of Hamby v. Parnell, which secured the right to marry for same-sex couples in Alaska and in Smith v. Dunleavy, stopping the state from denying PFDs to same sex accompanying military spouses and children. Furthermore, she played an instrumental role in writing and passing the LGBT-inclusive Anchorage Equal Rights Ordinance and has consulted on numerous bills in the Alaska State Legislature.

The rights of women, children and survivors are causes close to Ms. Shortell's heart. She has been an ardent advocate for them throughout her career. Her track record includes successfully representing survivors of sexual violence, fighting against sex discrimination, and advocating for the rights of incarcerated individuals, people with disabilities and victims of race discrimination.

In her dedication to giving back, Ms. Shortell offers her legal knowledge on a volunteer basis to support survivors of sexual and domestic violence through organizations like Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA) and the National Women's Law Center Fund (NWLCF) TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.