Insights & News /  

Ariella Dreyfuss lectured today to a group of Israeli medtech startups participating in the Hadassah Accelerator (powered by IBM Alpha Zone). The lecture was on the secrets behind fundraising. 

Until recently, companies have focused their privacy policies on customers and suppliers, but have not placed enough emphasis on the privacy of their employees. We are now seeing a trend reversal, as employees are beginning to understand that an organization cannot do what it wants with their information and that there are legal limitations to collecting information about them. Organizations must now be more careful with employees’ privacy and this is how to do it. 

Adv. Anat Even-Chen participated in Globes' "Material for Thought" conference on the cyber industry. Anat was featured on a panel about the effects of a cyber crisis on an organization, where she discussed how companies should prepare for upcoming challenges in 2021 in this field.

Yuval Lazi lectured this morning on founders' and investors' agreements as part of the "From Project to Startup" course at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Engineering. During the course, students establish and develop a technology startup, with mentors and leading industry professionals guiding them throughout the project. Yuval serves as one of the mentors in the course.

As an expert in the infrastructure field, Shai Avnieli was interviewed for Calcalist’s podcast to provide his highlights for the year 2020. He analyzed how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the industry and where the infrastructure industry is headed.

In recent years, leading artists in Israel have alleged a lack of transparency in how Eshkolot, a company that oversees artists' royalties, is managing their money. Several of these artists are stakeholders of the company, and some previously held various positions in the company. 

Adv. Eyal Nachson was interviewed for an article by TheMarker on the subject. Eyal was quoted as follows: "On the recommendation of the court, Shaham – The Israel Actors' Association conducted a comprehensive and in-depth mediation procedure with Eshkolot. At the end of the mediation, the parties reached an agreement including achievements that will strengthen the control and supervision of the royalty amounts."

As part of a comprehensive guide prepared by Humphreys Law Ltd on leaver and vesting provisions, Ariella Dreyfuss contributed her perspective on the Israeli market.

Harel Perlmutter, the head of our Tax Department, has published an op-ed in Globes on the importance of recognizing childcare expenses for tax purposes, particularly now during the coronavirus period.

Last October, the Knesset proposed a draft of the Agriculture Law. Yevul Si, a leading agriculture magazine, published an op-ed by our firm's Hagit Ben Moshe, an expert in the field. She provided commentary on the law, and on the importance of properly compensating the agriculture industry.

Adv. Hagit Ben Moshe, who leads the kibbutz and agricultural sector at our firm, was interviewed by TheMarker. Hagit emphasized in the interview that purchasing land, unlike buying an apartment, is primarily at the theory level. "In most cases, companies in this field sell you an option to rights in the land, dependent on several conditions, such as changing the land's designation and completing the planning. Unless the plan is already approved, no one can guarantee you with any certainty on when or if the conditions will be met and your dreams will come true. We've encountered several cases where people buy agricultural land based on promises from the authorities, and then the authorities back down from the plans, or even expropriate the land for themselves. If the authorities cannot provide certainty, then certainly the people in sales offices can’t either."

Our firm organized a webinar for legal advisers and compliance officers, in partnership with ACC. As part of the webinar, firm partner Dr. Zvi Gabbay lectured on the connection between ethics and obedience. Are they in competition or do they complement one another? 

Our office will host on December 3, 2020, from 10:30-11:30 am, a webinar entitled "Proper Management in a Changing Labor Market." Topics include innovations in hearing procedures for terminating employees in light of COVID-19 and the impact of digital life on organizations and the nature of work.

Jio, India's largest telecommunications company, recently completed a major investment round, raising money from leading multinational corporations like Google and Facebook. Israeli insurance company Menora Mivtachim also invested about USD 30 million as part of the round. Firm partner Roy Engel accompanied Menora Mivtachim in the investment.

Dr. Zvi Gabbay lectured today on the distribution and marketing of hedge funds as part of a virtual conference held in collaboration with the Israel Hedge Funds Association and the international law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman.

After a year of negotiations, Jerusalem Light Rail concessionaire Shapir Engineering and its Spanish partner CAF announced the closure of a financial agreement for the construction and operation of a network of light rail lines in Jerusalem. The project's initial financing, amounting to nearly NIS 4 billion, will be led by Bank Hapoalim, with the participation of First International Bank of Israel, investment house Altshuler Shaham, and insurance company Migdal. Our firm's Simon Jaffa and Samuel Henry Samuel represented CAF in the transaction. This is CAF's first project in Israel.

Our firm represented Danel in the acquisition of 51% of Manor Medical, an egg donation and surrogacy company.

Advs. Micky Barnea, and Ilan Blumenfeld represented Danel in the acquisition with a value of up to NIS 140 million.

A number of US pharma companies have issued a joint statement promising not to shorten the process for developing a coronavirus vaccine or to prioritize narrow economic considerations over public health.

This cooperation between competing companies challenges existing perceptions about the business sector and shows that sometimes public health is no less an important consideration.

Is now the time for companies to value the public good and other relevant stakeholders over company shareholders? Dr. Zvi Gabbay's op-ed on the subject was published in Globes.

Adv. Simon Jaffa and Ariella Dreyfuss represented Knorr-Bremse, the German global market leader for braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles in its US$10 million investment in the Israeli railway safety company Rail Vision.

Hagit Ross, a partner in our Capital Markets Department, represented Canomed, a company engaged in the cultivation, marketing, and direct sale of medical cannabis, in the issuance of two options series. The issuance is expected to reach a value of NIS 6 million. Canomed is one of the first companies to promote the purchase of pharmacies licensed to sell medical cannabis, thus providing the company direct access to the end consumer. Canomed itself already owns several such pharmacies.

In mid-September 2020, a series of articles were published by a group of foreign journalists, based on the collection and analysis of over 2,500 leaked documents from FinCEN, the US equivalent of the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority.

The leak of such sensitive information may cause banks and financial institutions to think twice before reporting suspicious financial activity, which would be a mistake. Check out Dr. Zvi Gabbay's op-ed in Calcalist on the subject.