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October 15, 2020
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) –The Future of Finance?
What is DeFi?
The first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is still the most well-known application of blockchain. However, this technology has since rapidly evolved and expanded in many other areas. The initial hope with Bitcoin was to make both money and payments decentralized and universally accessible. Although Bitcoin failed to live up to this promise, decentralized finance based on blockchain (DeFi), also called open finance, is a fledgling technology with potential. DeFi is operated by decentralized, permisionless (without any central authority) applications, called DApps, built on a blockchain network, most commonly Etherum. Visionaries see this as an open-source alternative to every financial service we use today: from savings, loans, and trades, to insurance and even more, all globally accessible.
October 15, 2020
Leaked FinCEN Files Harm the Fight Against Money Laundering
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. Read more in an op-ed in Calcalist.
October 14, 2020
2020’s Wave of IPOs
Since the beginning of 2020, ten initial public offerings (IPOs) have been completed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, for a total of ILS 12 billion. In addition, another 15 companies plan to issue IPOs at a cumulative value of ILS 8 billion by the end of the year. What has changed, why should we pay attention, and what should we watch out for? Five experts in the field, including Adv. Micky Barnea, answer all TheMarker’s questions.
October 13, 2020
Investor Relations Workshop – Practical Aspects
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.
October 13, 2020
How to Comply with Local Employment Laws in a World with No Boundaries
In recent months, COVID-19 has prompted many employers to close their offices and require employees to work from home, sometimes indefinitely. Employers and employees alike have discovered that work does not always require a physical presence in the office. This shift has created a new challenge: Israelis working abroad are asking to return to Israel to be closer to family, or their employers are asking them to return to reduce costs. But what happens when an Israeli employee works for an international company with no presence in Israel? What legal requirements apply? In an article published by Calcalist, Adv. Netta Bromberg, head of our Employment Department, explores these questions.
October 2, 2020
Employment: Paid Sick Leave for Time in Quarantine
Yesterday the Court granted the State’s request to extend the period during which employees may use paid sick leave for time in quarantine until October 28, 2020.
As you may remember, the Supreme Court repealed an order from the Ministry of Health, according to which a sweeping medical certificate was given to employees in quarantine due to possible exposure to COVID-19. This repeal was to have entered into effect on September 30, 2020.
October 1, 2020
Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, and Interest in Israeli Hi-Tech Companies
2014 was a good year for the Israeli-Japanese economic relationship. Viber’s USD 900 million acquisition by Japanese giant Rakuten and the RD cooperation agreement between Japan and Israel marked the beginning of growing interest and a successful relationship between the two distinct countries.
September 30, 2020
Israel’s Second Lockdown: A Guide for Employers
The lockdown entered inְto effect on September 25, 2020, at 14:00, and is expected to continue until October 10, 2020. It is possible at the end of this period the lockdown will be extended. We have prepared an in-depth update for employers on the relevant topics.
September 29, 2020
Adv. Jacki Silbermann Lectures on Workers' Rights
Adv. Jacki Silbermann of our Employment Department delivered a lecture today on employees’ rights in Israel as part of Israel Tech Challenge’s Data Science Fellows program. Established to address the workforce shortage in Israel’s tech industry, Israel Tech Challenge offers intensive training programs for new immigrants who are outstanding graduates of leading universities worldwide.
September 24, 2020
Adv. Ariella Dreyfuss to Serve as Judge for IBM Alpha Zone Pitch Day
The IBM Accelerator Pitch Day takes place today, giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to present their ideas to a panel of experts. Adv. Ariella Dreyfuss will serve as one of the judges.
September 21, 2020
Blockchain and Digital Currencies Regulation
In a short video, we examine digital currencies and recent developments in blockchain regulation in Israel.
September 17, 2020
Updates Regarding the Upcoming Lockdown in Israel
A nationwide lockdown in Israel is to take effect on Friday, September 18, 2020, from 2 p.m., to last for at least 14 days, (the restrictions may be extended, in full or in part, as determined by the Israeli government). While the regulations are currently pending final approval by the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, they are expected to be enacted late tonight or early tomorrow.
September 15, 2020
It’s A New World Out There – Hedge Funds Navigating COVID
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.”
September 8, 2020
The Ultimate Guide to eDiscovery
This has opened the door to an era of massive discovery of thousands different kinds of documents of between the parties (Word documents, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, emails, photos, and audio files), which was uncommon in the days of paper and binders.
September 7, 2020
Cyberattack on Tower Semiconductor: Effect on Activity
Tower detected a cyberattack on its systems and announced that it had taken steps to contain the incident. Adv. Yuval Lazi and Adv. Anat Even Chen, partners at our firm who advise companies responding to cyber breaches, were interviewed by Globes about the incident. They discussed the attack’s impact on the company, its options for responding, and whether and when companies should report a cyberattack.
September 3, 2020
Israel Securities Authority Publishes Sentencings Guidelines for Administrative Procedures
For the first time, the Israel Securities Authority has published Sentencing Guidelines for Administrative Procedures which contain the considerations guiding its determination of sanctions for individual violators and corporations in an administrative procedure.
August 30, 2020
Employers Are Now Required to Publish Wage Gaps between Women and Men
According to a new amendment to the Male and Female Workers (Equal Pay) Law, employers must publish a yearly report outlining wage gaps between female and male employees. The amendment provides that certain employers must draft an internal yearly report detailing the average salary of their employees and the average wage gaps between men and women within each group of employees in the workplace.
August 30, 2020
Not All Sexual Comments or Advances from a Supervisor Constitute Sexual Harassment
An important ruling regarding workplace authority figures and the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace has established that one cannot automatically assume sexual comments or advances by an employee with managerial authority constitute sexual harassment. In this ruling, it appears, the National Labor Court has tempered to some extent widespread notions about sexual harassment by an authority figure.
August 25, 2020
New Ruling Expected to Reduce Managers' Responsibility Following a Company's Collapse
In an important ruling recently handed down, the Tel Aviv District Court rejected a ILS 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.
August 25, 2020
TheMarker: In-Depth Report on Logistics of Purchasing COVID-19 Products
A recent article in TheMarket reported on the Ministry of Finance’s decision to waive the tender requirement for Israeli importer LR Industries Ltd., allowing it to supply millions of COVID-19 testing kits to the Ministry of Health in a deal valued at approximately USD 7.7 million. In response, long-established Israeli company Biological Industries Bet Haemek filed an administrative appeal and a motion for an interim order challenging the decision. Adv. Shai Avnieli and Adv. Shay Bello of our firm led the proceedings.