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As a result of COVID-19, in recent months, many employers have closed their offices and required their employees to work from home, sometimes indefinitely. Employers and employees alike have learned that people no longer need to be present at an office to get work done. This has created another unique situation. Israelis who relocated to countries around the world are now either requesting to return to Israel to be close to their family or being asked by their companies to return home in order to save costs. The question is how can this work for an Israeli employed by an international company with no connection to Israel. What are the legal requirements in such a situation? Netta Bromberg, the head of our Employment Department, has published an article in Calcalist on the subject.

The Israel Investor Relations Forum of the Israeli Association of Publicly Traded Companies, in collaboration with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, has launched an investor relations course for executives from leading companies. Yesterday’s session focused on regulation, including the rules of the game and how to publicize announcements to international investors.

Dr. Zvi Gabbay’s lecture, entitled “Duty to Report – Practical Implications,” covered how regulation in both Israel and the US can affect a company.

Jacki Silbermann, a lawyer from our firm's Employment Department, lectured today on workers' rights in Israel.

The lecture was held as part of a program run by Israel Tech Challenge, an organization established to address the manpower shortage in the Israeli tech industry. Israel Tech Challenge offers intensive training programs for new immigrants who are outstanding graduates from leading universities around the world. The lecture was held as part of a training session for the ITC's Data Science Fellows program.

The IBM Accelerator Pitch Day will be held today. As part of the event, entrepreneurs will present their ideas to a panel of experts. Ariella Dreyfuss will serve on the judges' panel at the event

As part of our legal counsel to the Israel Hedge Funds Association, we are proud to be involved in the IHFA's 8th Annual Conference. The theme of the conference is “It's A New World Out There – Hedge Funds Navigating COVID.”

Tower identified a cyber attack on its systems and released a statement saying it had taken measures to prevent the event’s further development. Yuval Lazi and Anat Even Chen, partners from our firm that represent companies dealing with cyber breaches, were interviewed by Globes on the matter. They explained the attack’s impact on the company, the company’s different alternatives of how now to respond, and when and if a company should report a cyber attack.

In an important ruling recently handed down, the Tel Aviv District Court rejected a NIS 120 million lawsuit filed by Habas Group against the company's managers. Judge Kabub's ruling constitutes an initial interpretation of a new section of the the Insolvency and Rehabilitation Law, which deals with the degree of responsibility that can be attributed to managers when the company they run becomes insolvent.

The article mentions the Ministry of Finance's decision to exempt from a tender process LR Industries Ltd., an Israeli importer, thus allowing it to supply millions of COVID-19 testing kits to the Ministry of Health, at an estimated value of USD 7.7 million. In response, veteran Israeli company Biological Industries Bet Haemek filed an administrative appeal and a motion for an interim order against the decision. This process was led by Advs. Shai Avnieli and Shay Bello from our firm.

Daniel Lorber was invited to speak at a new Tech7 and Nisha Global meetup for those looking for their next market overseas. Daniel discussed the differences in US and Israeli business cultures.

As an expert in the compliance field, Zvi Gabbay was invited for the fourth straight year to lecture a compliance officer training course organized by the BDO Academy of Finance and MITIGATE. This unique practical course is geared to compliance officers in international financial organizations. During the lecture, Zvi discussed administrative enforcement and enforcement plans.

Adv. Niv Polani has more than thirty years of experience in the legal and banking worlds. He held several senior positions at Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel's largest banks, including Vice General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, Vice President, and Head of Corporate Development. Niv also served as the General Counsel and Head of Regulatory Affairs of one of Israel’s leading credit card companies. Niv joins Barnea Jaffa Lande as an of counsel and will focus on developing and strengthening the firm's activities in the banking and payments fields.

A new Supreme Court ruling determines that a warning note may not be used as collateral for buyers of apartments in a TAMA 38 project in Ramat Gan in which the developer went bankrupt. In light of the ruling, Elder Adato, the head of our Real Estate Department, was interviewed by Calcalist. He commented: "In dozens of TAMA 38 projects all over the country, the only collateral home buyers received until now was a warning note. These warning notes were primarily intended to ensure the money of home buyers. It is important to note that this ruling applies only to a specific event, in which the contractor collapsed and the warning notes constituted an 'onerous asset' for the completion of the project. "

The Ministry of Finance has announced reduced tax rates for the purchase of an apartment for investment. How much will you pay and how can you choose the right tax payment route for you? Check out Liat Keisary’s guide for investors published by Mako.

Liquidity Fund of Meitav Dash will establish with MUFG Bank, the world’s largest Japanese bank, a new private investment fund in Asia. The new fund will be incorporated in Singapore, and will provide credit to companies in Asia, through securitization transactions of future cash flows. Our firm, led by attorneys Roy Engel and Yuval Lazi, accompanied Liquidity, which as part of the agreement will provide the joint company with management and underwriting services.

About a year and a half after the investment fund Accelmed, which is managed by Uri Geiger, announced the merger of the company it controls, American Keystone Group, with the Israeli Paltop company, controlled by Shmuel Topaz, it is now acquiring the entire holdings in Paltop for NIS 100 million. This ends the conflict between the investor groups of Paltop and Accelmed. Advs. Daniel Lorber, Netta Bromberg, and Harel Perlmutter  represented the Topaz family and the Paltop investors.

Azrieli Group and MGS have launched a retail website to sell fashion and footwear products. This is the first time Azrieli has set up a company together with a retailer. The deal was led by Sagi Gross.

Micky Barnea was invited to be a guest speaker in a webinar held on July 30 presented together with CoWrks Foundry (an India-based accelerator), RIHub (US-based innovation hub), and Brown University. Micky discussed the legal aspects of introducing a startup to the international market.

Many steps go into completing M&A transactions. Now, with the COVID-19 outbreak, companies are taking this time to modify and sometimes even cancel transactions. What is behind the delay in completing transactions, and on whom to take the risk? Globes interviewed M&A expert Micky Barnea on the subject.

Advs. Yuval Lazi and Uri Hillel of our firm accompanied Britannica Knowledge Systems, a world-leading provider of advanced solutions for training management and professional competence, in a USD 70 million contract for the supply of the FOX system to the United States Army.