Insights & News

Our firm is hosting today, on behalf of the Japanese Embassy, a delegation of large-company CEOs who came to Israel as part of an innovation tour.

Our firm is hosting the Israeli Directors' Union today for a seminar on data protection and privacy. During it we will discuss the new European privacy regulations (GDPR) and directors' exposure in the age of privacy.

We are hosting today together with Baker McKenzie an event focusing on the steps companies can take to prevent and respond to cyber-attacks. Adv. Yuval Lazi will discuss the immediate actions to take after a cyber-attack, as well as the duties and importance of the "Cyber War Room."

Our head of our firm's Internet Department, lectured at Tel Aviv University to visiting American law students from the University of Virginia. The law students came to Israel for a course on the legal aspects of the "Startup Nation."

We hosted, together with the Association of Corporate Counsel, a seminar on blockchain and digital currencies. We discussed new regulatory challenges, with Micky Barnea addressing blockchain and smart contracts. Tal Cohen, Compass Blockchain Solutions's CEO, gave a special introductory lecture on bitcoin and digital currencies.

Adv. Yuval Lazi will today discuss partnership agreements with the participants of the StartOno Accelerator, the entrepreneurship program of the Ono Academic College.

We are hosting today together with Enterprise Florida a delegation of students from the Johnson Cornell Tech for a presentation session with venture capitalists. Adv. Ariella Dreyfuss, a partner in our Corporate Department, will participate in the session.

Adv. Ilan Blumenfeld, a partner in Barnea's Antitrust Department, participated in a panel discussion on proposed amendments to the Antitrust Law for Haaretz's "Echad Ha'am" magazine (pages 16–19).

Our firm is hosting today a student delegation from Handong Global University. The students are visiting Israel from South Korea.

Our Head of our Employment Department, is participating today in a training program held by the People Management Association. She will lecture on legal issues in the recruiting process.

Adv. Ariella Dreyfuss will lecture today at the Ben-Gurion University Innovation Program on the topics of founders' agreements, IP, and investment agreements.

Barnea hosted an ICOs and digital currencies event featuring a lecture on regulation opportunities and challenges. Harel Perlmutter also discussed the taxation of cryptographic coins and the Israel Tax Authority's position.

Roni Lish, the minority shareholder in the franchise company of the French culinary brand Fauchon, is suing his partner in the franchise. Roni claims his partner acted to reduce the value of the company in order to control it and to remove him from the company. Roni Lish is represented by Advs. Zohar Lande and Gilli Cohen-Arazi of our firm's Litigation Department.

Yuval Lazi, a partner in our Technology Department, will lecture today to the participants of the Tel Aviv University Student Union's Elite Entrepreneurship Program on shareholder agreements and startups' Cinderella stories.

Following a bill promoted by the Israel Securities Authority, and passed by the Knesset, outlawing binary options trading by Israeli companies, Yukom Communications LTD and its controlling shareholder, Yossi Herzog, filed a petition to the High Court of Justice. Overseeing the filing of the petition were Barnea attorneys Zohar Lande, Eyal Nachshon, and Moran Bickel.

The High Court of Justice ruled in a temporary order that the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council should explain why it did not announce RGE as the winner of the tender for the operation of the Knesset Channel, following the disqualification of Channel 20's offer. RGE is represented by Advs. Zohar Lande, Ronen Reingold, Adi Shoham, and Itay Hatam of our firm's Litigation Department.

Adv. Micky Barnea, our firm's managing partner, was interviewed by Globes on the major events that have taken place in Israel's capital market in the past year: the re-emergence of initial public offerings on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the Bezeq affair, and ICOs.

An article in Financial Magnates discusses the Israel Securities Authority's approach to initial coin offerings (ICO) and cryptocurrencies and how this approach compares to other jurisdictions.

An interview following the Ministry of Economy and Industry's recently published draft bill placing restrictions on telemarketing.

Following the Panama Papers leak, Israeli authorities have arrested two Israelis on suspicion of evading millions of shekels in tax payments by using companies registered in offshore tax havens. Harel Perlmutter, a partner and head of Barnea's Tax Department, commented to Bloomberg BNA that even though many Israelis were named in the leaked documents, most of them appear to have been using the offshore havens for reasons other than tax evasion.