Insights & News

Our firm hosted a webinar in collaboration with the Tel Aviv & Central Israel Chamber of Conference. Netta Bromberg, the head of our firm’s Employment Department, lectured on the duties and rights of both employers and employees during wartime.

Recently, and against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, there has been an increasing number of diaspora Jews purchasing apartments and properties in Israel. Along with other experts in the field, Liat Keisary, the head of our firm’s Private Clients Department, was interviewed by Ynet for an article on the subject. Liat explained that this trend, along with the weakening of the shekel, is expected to lead to a sharp increase in the purchase of luxury properties in Israel.

We hosted the webinar “A Legal View on Israel's War with Hamas” for colleagues and international clients. Prof. Amichai Cohen, a special counsel at our firm who specializes in the laws of armed conflict, provided an overview of the situation and answered questions. Topics discussed included the status of the abducted and captive Israelis, the limitations imposed on Israel during battle, the blockade on the Gaza Strip, and the transfer of humanitarian aid.

This week, the Israeli Ministry of Finance launched a new compensation plan for military reservists. As an expert in the employment field, Netta Bromberg was interviewed by several major Israeli media outlets on the subject.

Jacki Silbermann from our Employment Department, was interviewed by the Society for Human Resources Management, the world’s largest HR association, in connection with remote work in Israel during the ongoing war. Jacki noted, “A lot of the businesses where employees can do remote work, in the high-tech and other sectors, have moved to that, and I think they're planning on being in that stage for a while.”

Amos E. Rosenzweig, the former chief legal advisor of the National Insurance Institute and an of counsel at our firm, led a webinar on employers’ obligations during wartime. He discussed reserve service payments, allowances, and benefits, including for the victims of hostile actions. The webinar was held in collaboration with the Israeli Association of Corporate Counsel.

Law.com, the leading American legal news service, published an article on the effects of the Israel-Hamas war on law offices in Israel. As a leader in the local industry, Micky Barnea, our firm's managing partner, was interviewed about the challenges of an Israeli law firm coping with the recent conflict. With regard to client services, Micky commented, “We have made sure that we’re providing employment advice to our clients, to help them deal with the situation.” Micky also noted with regard to managing workflow that “I’m looking at two things: on one hand, the availability of our people, who and to what extent they are available to work, and the other side is the real demand for legal work.” 

Michal Cohen, the Director General of the Israel Competition Authority, issued a special statement, emphasizing the prohibition on companies exploiting their monopolistic position to cause consumers harm during the Israel-Hamas war. As an expert in the competition and antitrust field, Irit Brodsky was interviewed by Globes on the issue. Irit noted, “In addition to the various reliefs, during this difficult period, businesses must take care not to harm consumers as part of their survival efforts, and certainly not to exploit the situation. The Director General intends to be vigilant, especially regarding practices that exploit a company’s monopolistic position and harm consumers, and will use the enforcement measures in her power against such entities.”

Following the publication of draft regulations on derivative claims, Eyal Nachshon, a partner in our firm's litigation department, was invited to participate in a webinar hosted by the Israeli Association of Publicly Traded Companies on the issue. In his lecture, Eyal referred to the draft regulations with an eye toward litigation.

The use of emojis is expanding, redefining the bounds of interpersonal communication. For instance, a Canadian court recently determined that a text message with a thumbs-up emoji was considered as valid acceptance of contractual terms. Read Daphna Klein’s op-ed on the case in Calcalist.

For years, the purchasing group trend made transactions to purchase an apartment more viable. Today, as part of the drive to deal with sky-high housing prices, the trend has seen a resurgence. As an expert in the real estate field, Alon Wolner was interviewed by Bizportal on the subject.  Alon noted that “naturally, when there is an attempt to lower prices, creative solutions are sought, but we should remain aware of the risks inherent in purchasing groups.”

The pandemic is over and employers are demanding employees return from remote work back to the office, despite some employees’ reluctance. Netta Bromberg, the head of our firm’s Employment Department, was interviewed by TheMarker for an article on the subject. Netta noted, “Not every change in employment conditions constitutes a worsening of conditions, especially not an evident one, that allows an employee to qualify for resignation as dismissal. The employer has a workplace and a business to manage, and he has the authority to manage it as he sees fit, including demanding that employees work from the office.”

Following a lengthy battle by the majority shareholders in Megureit, led by Phoenix Group and More Investment House, a significant reduction was made to the REIT fund’s management fees. The agreement was reached after an institutional activist struggle, including a petition to the court and a demand for a special shareholders’ meeting. Phoenix and More were represented by firm partners Zohar Lande and Hagit Ross, with additional assistance from Shachar Rothschild, Alon Anava, Tzofiya Shenfeld, and Ronit Lerer.

We held, together with the Israeli Association of Corporate Counsel, a webinar focused on compliance. Dr. Zvi Gabbay gave a lecture entitled, “What Do Regulators Want to See? Training and Implementation of Compliance Procedures.” Anat Shubat from our firm, along with Ella Chertok from ICL Group, explained how to combine creative thinking with best practices in compliance trainings.

Netta Bromberg, the head of our firm's Employment Department, lectured to a professional study course at the Israel Bar Association’s Midrasha – National Attorney's Academy. The lecture addressed expansion orders and collective bargaining agreements. Netta also touched on conducting legal analysis during due diligence procedures.

Elad Reshtick, Omri Oren, and Raz Landau represented Mediterranean Towers Ltd. in a ILS 300 million issuance of a new series of bonds held earlier this week. The company received offers for approximately ILS 533 million in the institutional phase.

Idan Miller, the coordinator of our firm’s insolvency and corporate recovery practice, was interviewed by Globes about the wave of companies in financial distress. Idan noted that “what we’re seeing in the newspapers is only the tip of the iceberg.”  According to Idan, a large number of unpublicized debt settlements are currently underway in contracting, high-tech, and security procurement companies.

Business Today has ranked Itay Gura on its list of the ten most influential lawyers in the startups and growing companies field in Israel.

Yuval Lazi and Nofar Rose David represented Chargeflow, a startup using AI to fight chargeback fraud, in an investment led by the VC firm OpenView Venture Partners.

Shai Avnieli and Omer Ungar are representing Bareket in a lawsuit the construction company Longshine has filed against it. Longshine, which served as the main contractor in a project initiated by Bareket, was nine months late in delivery of the project. As a result, Bareket deducted approximately NIS 10 million from the construction account.