Elisabeth Vanas-Metzler

Elisabeth Vanas-Metzler has been working at the VIAC Secretariat since October 2017; she is Deputy Secretary General of VIAC. Elisabeth studied law at Vienna University (Mag. iur. 2003, Dr. iur. 2008), Geneva University (2002) and Harvard Law School (LL.M. 2007). She served as research assistant at the Department for Business and Commercial Law at the Law Faculty of Vienna University. Later, she worked with renowned international law firms in Vienna and Bogotá (Colombia), first as an associate and then as an attorney-at-law. Her practice focused on dispute resolution and in particular international commercial arbitration. Elisabeth Vanas-Metzler has been very active in the fiel of dispute resolution, always with a particular focus on supporting women in the legal world.

We, the women in law, as well as our male sparring partners, have all experienced the still-existing obstacles on our ways as well as the ever-increasing possibilities on our paths. So many women are faced with comparable situations and challenges throughout their careers in various legal professions. We need to use this joint knowledge to further develop specific solutions and thereby create new chances. We are not alone in this endeavor; together we are strong. We need to stick together, exchange experiences and ideas, and support one another in realizing our dreams, in order to make the legal world a happy and prosperous one. To this end, we urgently need platforms, like the Women in Law Initiative. It is my firm belief that we can and must create an environment in which the girls and women of tomorrow, including especially those in law, find equal respect and equal rights as their reality; so that they can freely chose the private and professional lives that they wish for.

photo ©Vanas-Metzler