The firm welcomes Adv. Ezra Katzen as a new partner in its Technology Department, along with Adv. Daniel Lorber and Adv. Mayer Winkler, who join the Commercial Department.

Adv. Ezra Katzen was the featured speaker at a meeting of OurCrowd’s mentoring group, where he discussed directors’ liability in a talk titled “Board Oversight: Oversee, Don’t Overlook.”

An Israeli District Court ruled last week  that advertisements posted on websites as the result of the use of services provided by Google do not constitute spam according to the Israeli anti-spam law. For the full article, refer to the PDF below.

UK-based Global Invacom Group Ltd. entered into an agreement to acquire OnePath Networks Ltd., based in Bet Shemesh, Israel. Barnea represented Global Invacom in the transaction.

BreezoMeter, the winner of the Israeli competition, was developed to make air pollution visible. Using real-time big data analysis, it provides air quality information at street-level resolution. BreezoMeter competed against six other companies in the finals and will automatically join the GEW50, a list of the world’s 50 most promising startups. The final took place in Jerusalem and was attended by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, investors, entrepreneurs, startups, and high-tech executives. Adv. Michael Barnea, our managing partner said: “I am delighted that Barnea had the opportunity to take part in this special event. Our experience supporting entrepreneurs through incorporation, fundraising and the launch of technology and life sciences start-ups enabled us to contribute to the evaluation and selection of contestants. In doing so, we helped give the next generation of entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their ideas and gain international exposure.” Startup Open was launched in 2010 as a Kauffman Foundation initiative and is part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. It is one of the world’s largest competitions for startups, attracting participants from more than 30 countries.

Since its enactment in 1959, the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment is one of the most significant means of growth and development for the Israeli economy and its industry.

At the request of Canadian businessman Edwin (Benni) Tisch, businesswoman and Whitewater Holdings co-founder Hanna Gertler will testify in the Whitewater trial, following a ruling by Justice Ruth Ronen of the Tel Aviv District Court (Economic Department). Tisch alleges that Whitewater and Yogev made false representations and acted fraudulently, inducing him to invest millions in Whitewater Holdings. The company is in receivership and owes creditors approximately ILS 19 million. To read more, click here.

The seminar, organized by ESOP-Excellence and starTAU, featured in-depth lectures on employee share option plans. Drawing on his many years of experience as general counsel to technology companies, Adv. Ezra Katzen discussed the practical challenges of administering these plans.

The Startup Open final event will take place on September 22, 2014, in Jerusalem. The competition has given early-stage startups the opportunity to develop their ideas and present them to entrepreneurs and judges.

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid and his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schäuble, signed a revised tax treaty in Berlin on August 21, 2014. Last amended in 1977, the treaty has been updated to reflect modern international tax law and current economic relations between Israel and Germany.

Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza is escalating. The fighting began on July 8, when Israel launched Operation Protective Edge in response to rocket fire from Hamas into Israel. Can lawyers continue to conduct international business in Israel amid the conflict?

In recent radio interviews, Micky Barnea stated that Israel’s high-tech sector has not been significantly affected by recent events. Listen to the full interview at Galatz.

Barnea represented Spirent Communications PLC, a leading communications technology company listed on the London Stock Exchange, and its Israeli subsidiary in the acquisition of Radvision and Avaya’s Technology Business Unit for approximately USD 25 million.

Corporate LiveWire hosted a roundtable with seven experts from around the world to discuss the latest changes and developments in capital markets in their respective jurisdictions. To read more, click here.

The firm represented AVGOL Industries 1953 Ltd. in its issuance of a new series of debentures (Series C) totaling ILS 502 million. One of the largest financing rounds on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange this year, the issuance is intended to refinance existing debt and fund the company’s ongoing investments and operations. AVGOL is a global technology company and a world leader in the development, manufacture, and marketing of nonwoven fabrics, primarily for use in diapers and hygiene products. Its customers include major companies such as Procter Gamble and Kimberly-Clark. The company’s shares are listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and included in the Tel Aviv 100 Index. To read more, click here.

There is no doubt that Operation Protective Edge has had a material adverse impact on economic activities in Israel. The rocket attacks on communities in southern and central Israel reduced dramatically the revenues of businesses, hurt the tourism and vacation industries, and forced many companies to cope with absences of employees who were called up for active reserve duty. Business as usual? Nevertheless, it appears that the Israeli high-tech industry proceeded more or less with business as usual, as if high-tech is the “steadfast cliff” of the local economy. Even during last month, when the inferno in Gaza was at its worst and Israel found itself subject to venomous criticism throughout the world, the robust international activities in the Israel technological sector continued. International merger and acquisition transactions of Israeli technology companies did not stop and public offerings of Israeli high-tech companies on NASDAQ continued. One should not misconstrue the continuing global activities by Israeli high-tech companies as a reflection of support of the Israeli government’s policy in Gaza or as recognition of its right to protect itself from the barrage of Hamas rockets. The factor driving this activity is, first and foremost, the robust demand for Israeli technology, a demand that is hardly affected by political considerations. There are two additional factors that contribute to the Israeli high-tech industry’s imperviousness to the impact of the events of Operation Protective Edge. One factor is the fact that the majority of the commercial activities by Israeli high-tech companies is not in the local market. Though, in many instances, the development is located in Israel, the target markets and the vast majority of the sales are global. Therefore, the drop in the local demands has no material impact on the business activities of Israeli technology companies. The second factor, which is more complex and fragile, is the sense that the fighting in Gaza is not creating a substantive threat to Israel’s security. As long as it is evident that the threat to personal safety in central Israel is marginal, if not negligible, the technology sector can project a sense of “business as usual.” The operation of the Iron Dome systems reinforces this sense of security. Nevertheless, one must take into account that this sense of security could be extremely fragile. The temporary halting of flights to Israel by foreign companies, as a result of a rocket falling in Yehud, provided clear evidence as to how quickly the situation could change. There was a good reason for the intensive political efforts to resume flights. Were it not for the decision to resume air travel with Israel within 24 hours, it is doubtful whether the atmosphere of normalcy could have been sustained. For anyone who needs a reminder of the possible correlation between personal safety and routine activity in the technology sector, one merely needs to recall the period of the Second Intifada. At the beginning of the 2000s, the suicide attacks caused visitors from overseas to stay away from Israel. Even though the technology sector was also suffering from the impact of the technology bubble burst during those same years, one cannot disregard the impact of the security threat on the recession that also hit the Israeli high-tech industry at that time. In light of this, while we can look with pride and some amazement at the continuing business activity in the Israeli technology sector, we must keep in mind that it is never impervious. The continuation of Operation Protective Edge or an expansion of the military operations into central Israel is liable to have a material adverse impact on the high-tech industry as well. The author, Adv. Micky Barnea, is the managing partner at Barnea Co.

The Startup Open competition is underway, and the field has narrowed to seven finalists. Selected from nearly 100 entrants, the finalists will compete in the national final on September 22, 2014, in Jerusalem. Adv. Micky Barnea, our managing partner, said, “As part of our longstanding relationship with Israel’s entrepreneurial community, Barnea is proud to participate in the Startup Open competition. During the semi-final, we identified several promising and innovative ventures, and I look forward to selecting the winning start-up at the final. The wide range of business ideas and industries represented by the finalists reflects the talent and creativity of Israel’s start-up and high-tech sector.”

Barnea’s litigation team represented a client before the Supreme Court in a landmark appeal concerning fundamental obligations under Israeli securities and tort law. The Supreme Court overturned the District Court’s rulings and accepted the firm’s position that no duty of care exists between shareholders found jointly liable for violations of securities law.

At the International Labor and Employment Law Committee’s Midyear Meeting in Tel Aviv, a panel of leading attorneys, including Marie Tsion, discussed the challenges women face in global legal practice.