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Practicing Law in Israel
By Adv. Minna F. Felig, Co-Founder Machshavot Smartjob
For potential olim, the hope of making aliyah and living the Zionist dream sometimes clouds the reality that once you land in Israel most of you will need to work. Finding a job is a necessity. The most obvious place to look for a job is in the field that you practiced abroad. If you were a lawyer before and you want to continue practicing law – you can practice here either in a law firm or as a legal advisor in a company or a government office.
Besides practicing as a lawyer, there are other jobs in the market that may touch on the law but don’t require a law license such as patent attorneys, IP management, legal secretaries and paralegals. However, for the purpose of this article I have limited myself to jobs that require a legal education and a law license.
Practicing law in Israel can be similar to your practice abroad. But depending on your area of expertise, it can also be very different. No matter what, however, there are many practical and cultural differences that are important to know before making the transition.
The Market Place:
The law market in Israel is divided into international and local practice areas, and one can practice law in either law firms or companies.
1. A Local Practice refers to positions that deal almost exclusively with local transactions and issues of Israeli law, no matter where the client is based. From a law firm perspective, this includes, inter alia, Family Law, Property Law, Commercial Contracts Law, Income Tax, Labor and Civil/Commercial Litigation. Companies will also hire lawyers to deal with local issues such as Contracts, Property, Labor Law, Insurance Law, Banking and Regulatory Law in areas such as Israeli Securities, Telecom, etc.
It is important to remember that the practice may still be local even if the clients are not. So, for example, a global computer company might hire a local lawyer to advise on local issues affecting their local office and trade in Israel. They want their lawyer to handle property contracts, advise on local labor issues, negotiate insurance contracts etc. For all of these “local” practice areas, the emphasis is on Israeli law and lawyers are expected to have a high level of written and spoken Hebrew. Global companies will also expect a high level of fluency in English so that you can communicate with the managers abroad.
An International Practice refers to positions that deal with international transactions and focuses primarily on Israeli companies that export from Israel and those whose primary transactions are abroad. Such companies include technology companies as well as food and clothing manufacturers. But it also includes companies that invest abroad, such as property development companies, and public companies that are listed -– or want to be listed -- on foreign stock exchanges and thus require advice on foreign regulatory compliance. The areas of expertise that are generally sought are Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions, Software Licensing and Distribution Transactions, International Property Transactions, International Tax, etc.
2. Many full service Israeli law firms hire foreign-licensed English speaking lawyers because of their foreign practice experience. These foreign licensed lawyers represent international clients who are investing or doing transactions in Israel, or they represent Israeli companies that are investing or doing transactions abroad. Usually, the international lawyer has a basic knowledge of the relevant Israeli laws, but in large firms s/he works together with the firm’s Israeli lawyers who are experts in the local laws, thus relieving the foreign lawyer of having to be experts on Israeli law – at least initially.
For a list of Israeli law firms, see http://www.martindale.co.il
How Important is Hebrew?
Excellent Hebrew skills are essential for those who want to practice local law and important for those with an international practice, but not essential. Excellent Hebrew means the ability to understand and participate meaningfully in a business meeting in Hebrew, and to write without mistakes. The more your foreign experience is needed for the position you apply for, the less stringent employers will be about your Hebrew.
Unfortunately, olim are not always prepared for the fact that many of the laws in Israel are completely different from what they are used to, and that in local practice areas there is little use for English. Lawyers who come from litigation, Labor law, Insurance, Family Law, Property Law and Criminal law backgrounds may have a hard time finding work.
Therefore, someone who wants to continue practicing any kind of litigation will have to be fluent in both written and oral Hebrew.
For international practice areas, English is usually the main language required for drafting and it is required at a native level. The largest firms and big international companies often hire English speakers who are not yet fluent in Hebrew, as long as they have experience in relevant practice areas (US Securities, private equity, software licensing, etc.). However, as a general rule, the default language for informal communications within law firms and companies is Hebrew and employers always prefer to hire someone who can communicate orally in Hebrew.
The competition for these select international positions is fierce. Besides other olim who come with stellar credentials, today many Israelis spend several years practicing in leading law abroad, gaining relevant international corporate experience and excellent English drafting skills. Some employers prefer these “returning Israelis” over native English speakers because they can communicate better with their Israeli clients in Hebrew. Others prefer the native English speaker because the English writing skills will always be better. A lot depends on whether the person hiring is himself/herself a native English speaker. However, in deciding between a pure English speaker with no relevant corporate experience and an Israeli with excellent English and relevant corporate experience, they will almost always hire the Israeli.
Practicing in a Law Firm
Israeli law firms have g