Insights & News

The high-tech sector is concerned about the impending passing of legislation which would effectively further restrict the salaries payable to executives in the financial sector. The concern is that this legislation could be extended to apply all types of listed companies , including Israeli high-tech companies listed on venture capital markets abroad. Micky Barnea, as an experienced lawyer in the high-tech field, was interviewed by TheMarker

Barnea represented East and West Stores Ltd, a leading importer of foods into Israel from the Far East,  in a dispute concerning the use of the trade name "East and West" and its trademarks.

Following an appeal to the Supreme Court filed by our litigation department,  the ruling made against the Company by the District Court ,which prohibited the Company from using the trade name "East and West" in some markets, was reversed (our firm was not involved in the District Court action).

The Supreme Court  also reversed the contempt of court ruling issued against the Company.

East and West Stores Ltd. was represented by Adv. Zohar Lande and Adv. Itai Wigoda. Adv. Ilan Blumenfeld assisted on the commercial aspects.

In an article on the best decorated offices, The Marker Real Estate magazine chose Barnea as having one of the most beautiful law firm offices.

Adv. Yuval Lazi will participate tomorrow as a judge at the final event of the Startau elite entrepreneurship program "demo day".

This program is a unique acceleration program intended for young entrepreneurs, whose involvement in the program commences at concept stage. The program gives these young entrepreneurs the tools and knowledge to advance the concept to the point where it is ready for investment within three months.

Among the judges will be Samsung Venture Invesment, Krypton Venture Capital and Deutsce Telekom.

The Israeli newspaper TheMarker interviewed our head of internet department, to discuss the new guidelines issued by the Israeli Tax Authority, according to which shall begin collecting  VAT and income taxes from foreign companies which conduct substantial business over the internet in Israel, such as Facebook and Google.

The Legal Business magazine has dedicated its April edition to Israel, with a focus on current topics and trends in the country. Simon Jaffa was interviewed regarding Israel's high- tech industry.

Yesterday, the signing ceremony of the Share Purchase Agreement for the sale of Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd. to Fosun (China), for approximately NIS 290 million, was held in Jerusalem. Micky Barnea, Ariella Dreyfuss and Itay Gura from our firm represented Kibbutz Mitzpe Shalem, one of the selling shareholders.

A conversation with Ariel Nadler regarding purchasing groups and the pros and cons thereof.

As an expert in advising entrepreneurs, Yuval Lazi will be a mentor in an evening event involving 40 participants in the student entrepreneurship program at the University of Tel Aviv. The event will be held on Tuesday 05/04/16 at 6pm at Tel Aviv University

An article examines the willingness of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) to enter into an enforcement agreement without requiring the violator to confess to the offense or assume responsibility for it. It further argues that the criteria applicable to administrative enforcement do not necessarily overlap with those governing criminal enforcement, and that no correlation between the two should be assumed. In addition, the article compares the enforcement agreement policies of the ISA and the United States. It concludes that enforcement agreements without an admission of liability are not inherently illegitimate, and that intervention in the ISA's discretion would be justified only where the enforcement agreement is fundamentally flawed.

Barnea represented Continuity Software in a transaction for the sale of the company to Kedma Capital for an amount of NIS 160 million. Continuity Software is the leading provider of service availability risk management solutions.

Representing Continuity Software- Adv. Micky Barnea and Adv. Ariella Dreyfuss.
Adv. Yuval Lazi represented Kedma Capital.

In recent months the ISA has  stopped the activity of many algo-trading companies, because their businesses constitute investment portfolio management without a license required by law. In an opinion article in Bizportal,  Adv. Moran Bickel argues that the ISA should create a specific regulatory system in order to assess algo- trading companies.

In a letter circulated yesterday to companies engaged in the binary options industry, ISA informed these companies that it has decided to completely halt binary option trading in Israel. 

In an opinion article in Calcalist Magazine by Adv.  Zohar Lande, Partner and Head of the Litigation Department in our office, he  discussed the latest changes in the process of hiring interns at law firms. According to Zohar, despite shortcoming in these changes, regulatory intervention is necessary.

Adv. Gal Oren was interviewed by the prominent Israeli business newspaper, Globes, for an article regarding  the financial opportunities to be found in countries suffering economic crises.

The prestigious Bloomberg BNA’s World Securities Law Report published  an article by Ron Shuhatovich discussing the recent order of the ISA regarding the accredited investor definition.

Our head of the employment department, was interviewed by Globes magazine (in Hebrew) regarding the raising of the retirement age for women "this move is important both for promoting gender equality and for the status of women in the labor market, but I believe that the Israeli labor market is not ready for it". 

As an expert in the technology field, Micky Barnea was invited to lecture at a unique course for entrepreneurs organized by the BDO Academy, in association with the Technion’s Division of Continuing Education. Micky discussed founders agreements and investment agreements.

We participated in a roundtable held by Globes IT magazine. The subject of the event was Internet law, Cyber Protection, Privacy Information and the effects of technology. (P. 28-29)

An article discusses the need to examine corporate governance in substantive terms rather than solely through a procedural lens. It reviews the development of corporate governance in Israel from its adoption in the mid-2000s to the present, and outlines general principles for its future evolution while emphasizing the integration of substantive tests that would enable corporate governance to be implemented in an optimal manner.