Elizabeth van Schilfgaarde

Managing Partner, NautaDutilh New York P.C.

Biography:

Elizabeth van Schilfgaarde is the managing partner of NautaDutilh New York P.C.  NautaDutilh is a law firm that practices Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg law.  Elizabeth has been the cornerstone of NautaDutilh’s New York office for over 20 years and played an integral role in expanding the firm’s name recognition outside the Netherlands, where the firm is headquartered.

Elizabeth acts as a Dutch counsel in a wide range of international finance transactions, including asset-based lending, acquisition finance, structured finance and debt capital markets. Elizabeth represents many leading financial institutions and private equity funds as well as borrowers and issuers.  Elizabeth is ranked as an “Expert Based Abroad for Netherlands Banking & Finance” in Chambers Global 2018

Elizabeth is dual qualified (Amsterdam and New York). She graduated from Utrecht University Law School in the Netherlands with highest honors and has an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School.

Elizabeth initiates women’s leadership events in and outside NautaDutilh, and is an early sponsor of NautaDutilh’s successful LGTBQ platform “GLOBE”. She lives in New York City with a wonderful man, two older dogs and two grown daughters not too far away.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I have a drawing in my home office that I made when I was at summer camp on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It is a happy stick figure with bunches of flowers in both hands and flowers all around and it reads “Elizabeth – in amirika – 7 jaar”. I was so happy to be in US, even at seven. But I also love the Netherlands. Building bridges between Europe and the US was always my dream, and to my great pleasure, I have been able to make an excellent career out of it.

Much of my work is anticipating misunderstandings, realizing that someone is asking one thing, but the recipient is hearing something else. Most European lawyers, and certainly the Dutch, are able to conduct their practice in English. But that does not necessarily mean they understand what their American counterparts are saying. And this holds true the other way around as well. Just think about the words “stock” and “inventory,” which are pretty relevant in the commercial finance world. A Dutch lawyer would expect “stock” to mean the goods a merchant stores ready for sale, which in English is generally referred to as “inventory.” But if you ask that Dutch lawyer to draft a pledge over “inventory”, she will most likely think you are referring not only to stored goods, but also to the borrower’s equipment, desks, computers et cetera.

How do you balance work/personal time?

This question presumes that work and personal time are distinct. But in reality, the two are not that separate. If you love what you do, your work is your life just as much as your personal time is. You need to create an environment in which you can thrive at home and at work. If you love your career, you will be happier at home as long as you take being happy there just as seriously. Take care of yourself. Surround yourself with people you enjoy, people you can trust, who challenge you and support you. If you can even remotely afford it, invest 50% more in help than you think you need. Coming home to a clean house and being able to sit down with your family for a home-cooked meal without having to do the work is worth every penny. It will give you the ability to connect and be present when it matters.

What advice would you offer to women just starting out in the industry?

I just finished Rebecca Traister’s “Good and Mad” – a must-read for every professional woman. It made me realize how mad I am about the time I had to waste dancing around the man-woman issues. I’m mad about extra challenges that I and my women colleagues faced in being taken seriously. I’m mad about having to make sure I did not end up in problematic situations, fending off hands and arms that took liberties without creating “a scene” and trying to support women without people noticing, lest it would backfire. I worry that I did not speak up enough. Had I acknowledged that it made me mad, maybe I would have spoken up more. Otherwise, my advice is no different for men or for women. Make sure you stick with your values. Figure out who you are, what matters to you and don’t compromise. This is your life. If it does not feel good, if you can’t be proud of what you do, make sure you address it. Fix it or move on.