Skip to main content
|

Add a bookmark to get started

Bookmarks info
27 July 2023 • 25 minute read

Israel Group News - July 2023

Welcome to the July 2023 issue of our global newsletter, Israel Group News, aiming to keep you informed about current developments, hot topics for your consideration, and DLA Piper activities that focus on bringing the dynamic Israeli ecosystem to your doorstep.

DLA Piper’s Israel Group delivers all the benefits of a global law firm through a team of lawyers committed to the Israeli market. We provide a wide range of innovative legal services to Israeli companies, investors, and entrepreneurs, as well as to companies throughout the world seeking opportunities in Israel. We view ourselves as an extension of our clients, and we aim to partner with them for the long term, whether their needs involve day-to-day inquiries, smaller projects, special situations, or large-scale transactions.

For more general information about the Israel Group, click here. To gain more perspective on our trusted advisor practice, the types of day-to-day guidance we provide, and our representative client list, click here. To view our promotional video, click here. To access our 2022 Year in Review, click here. To view the highlight video of our recent Israel Real Estate Summit, click here.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or if we may be helpful in any manner. For new client requests, please send an email to israelclientrequest@dlapiper.com. 

Breaking legal insights from DLA Piper

  • After significant delay, New York City began enforcing its employment-related artificial intelligence (AI) law on July 5. Local Law 144 of 2021, which took effect on January 1, 2023, regulates employers’ use of automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) in making hiring and promotion decisions. This would likely effect a number of Israeli companies with a growing presence in New York (and which may be deemed New York City employers). Read an overview of key considerations to help New York City employers prepare for the law’s enforcement.

  • On June 29, the US Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University, holding that both universities’ admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Read more about how the Supreme Court’s decision ending affirmative action could impact employer diversity initiatives.

  • On June 20, the New York State legislature passed a bill that, as presently drafted, would ban all non-compete agreements in the employer-employee context, regardless of an employee's salary, industry, or job function, and create a private right of action for employees to sue employers that seek to impose or enforce a non-compete. Read more about how the law, if enacted, could impact Israeli businesses with offices in New York.

  • On June 8, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a “targeted update” of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The Guidelines have played a fundamental role in shaping responsible business standards since they were initially released in 1976. Our alert looks at key changes and what they mean for business.

  • DLA Piper’s 2023 Annual State of the Market Survey report is now available. Conducted in February and March of this year, the survey analyzes the views of commercial real estate experts and leaders on the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, economic outlook, attractiveness of investment markets, and overall expectations over the next 12 months. Order your copy here.

  • DLA Piper’s 9th Annual Global M&A Intelligence Report is now available. The report includes an analysis of the 2022 market; insights on global trends, challenges, and opportunities; and a discussion of implications. Order your copy here.

  • The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is now in force, and its requirements take actual effect in a phased manner from 2024 onwards. According to global financial data provider Refinitiv’s study, the CSRD is expected to directly impact about 10,000 non-EU companies, and more than 30 percent of these are expected to be US companies. Find out what non-EU companies need to know.

  • The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) has issued its report on the factors that contributed to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The report focuses on the roles of both SVB management and the Federal Reserve, which was the primary federal supervisor for the bank and the bank holding company, in the bank’s failure. While the report is highly critical of SVB management, it pulls no punches with respect to Federal Reserve supervision and suggests more assertive bank supervision and further reversal of supervisory or regulatory “tailoring” going forward. Read more about the Federal Reserve’s report.

  • The Digital Services Act (DSA), which targets online intermediary services and, in particular, online platforms, will be directly applicable throughout the EU as of February 17, 2024. Providers of online intermediary services and especially online platforms should examine the impacts of the DSA ahead of time; assess to what extent established processes, procedures, and documentation meet the new requirements; and, if necessary, update their services offered. The DSA applies regardless of whether the provider resides in the EU. Learn more.

Recent matters

Below are some recently announced transactions involving Israeli companies which were featured in the press:


Global activities

We are proud to report that, in the second quarter of 2023, we commenced projects for over 55 Israeli companies in the following 40 jurisdictions: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, the US, and Vietnam.

Below are some new representative matters in which we assisted Israeli companies around the world:

  • Commercial issues in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, and the US

  • Corporate and securities issues in Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Morocco, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and the US

  • Employment and employee benefits guidance in Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, the US, and Vietnam

  • Litigation and dispute guidance in France, Germany, Spain, and the US

  • M&A and investment guidance in India, Netherlands, Peru, Spain, the UAE, the UK, and the US

  • Patent, trademark, and copyright guidance in the EU and the US

  • Privacy guidance and compliance – including with respect to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) – in the EU, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the UK, and the US

  • Real estate guidance in the UK and the US

  • Regulatory issues in Australia, Denmark, the EU, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Spain, the UAE, the UK, and the US

  • Tax guidance in the UK and the US


Colleagues in the spotlight

Will Seivewright
Head of Corporate, Middle East
Dubai

Please tell us about your area of practice.

I’ve been practicing as a corporate M&A lawyer for more than 20 years, the last 14 of which have been based in the UAE. Prior to that, I practiced in London and New York, with a brief secondment in Hong Kong. The vast majority of my practice is cross-border private M&A, both inbound and interregional, but I also advise on public M&A (of which there isn’t a huge amount in the Middle East), joint ventures, private equity, and corporate reorganizations. I additionally lead the Middle East corporate team, which is a highly diverse team of more than 25 fantastic lawyers across offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

What piece of advice would you give Israeli companies looking to expand their global reach in the UAE?

Doing business in the UAE is surprisingly straightforward, but it can appear complex at first glance due to the patchwork of seven different Emirates that make up the UAE and over 40 free zones located across the UAE, all of which have their own rules, regulations, permitted activities, and procedures. This makes choosing the right advisers at the outset to help you navigate the legal landscape particularly crucial.

If you could travel to Israel next month, what place would be at the top of your list to visit?

Apart from reconnecting with our wonderful DLA Piper team on the ground in Tel Aviv, I would love to check out some of Israel’s legendary wineries and then finish the day with an evening stroll around the Old City of Jerusalem, followed by dinner at the Mamilla Hotel Rooftop restaurant.

What is the last book you read, and would you recommend it (and why or why not)?

Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography (and his follow-up book, The Power of Geography). If you’re into geopolitics, then I would 100-percent recommend it. Marshall explains in simple terms how the geographical landscape shapes many of the world’s current geopolitical tensions.

Samata Masagee
Corporate Partner
Bangkok

Please tell us about your area of practice.

 

My practice area includes M&A, corporate structuring, FDI, and regulatory advice.

 

What piece of advice would you give Israeli companies looking to expand their global reach in Thailand?

 

Despite the laws restricting foreign ownership in certain businesses, Thailand also has investment promotion schemes administered by the Board of Investment (BOI). In such schemes, investors making investments in targeted sectors can enjoy tax and non-tax benefits including tax holiday, import duty exemptions, the ability to own land, and the ability to hold 100 percent of the investment in a Thai operation. Investors should study the benefits of these schemes when considering investing in Thailand.

 

What challenges do Israeli companies face when it comes to the Thai market?

 

The legal scheme and foreign business restriction may be hard to navigate for investors who are new to the country. The political climate may also present challenges to some investors.

 

If you could travel to Israel next month, what place would be at the top of your list to visit?

 

I would love to visit Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea.


DLA Piper Israel Group updates

  • We are once again honored to be recognized as a top-ranking firm by Legally Israel 100 - IsraelDesks League Tables, and we are proud to announce that Jeremy Lustman was recognized as a Leading Individual – the ranking's top title. DLA Piper took another quadruple crown this year, taking first place in M&A (volume), tax, intellectual property, and hi-tech. We additionally moved up in ranking in M&A (value), litigation, and capital markets, and we are the only law firm to appear in all of the tables. Thank you to all our clients and friends in the ecosystem for your continuous support and trust in us.

  • We are thrilled to announce that our team is growing. We are pleased to welcome the following individuals to our group:
    • Yehudah Gordon, Director: Yehudah will be responsible for facilitating new client generation through intelligence gathering and networking, overseeing and managing ongoing client matters and projects, and generating new business opportunities for DLA Piper colleagues around the world. Yehudah comes to us from a major international law firm, where he was a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations team. Prior to that, he was a commercial litigation associate at an American law firm, as well as a law clerk in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey and the New Jersey Superior Court.

    • Ilona David, Billing Assistant: Ilona comes to us with over 15 years of experience in financial operations and billing. Her deep knowledge will benefit both our clients and our practice.

    • Maya Zar, Marketing Associate: Maya first joined the Israel Group as a marketing intern in November 2022, and we are excited to welcome her as a full-time member of our team. Her energy and can-do attitude have already added so much to our marketing initiatives, as well as to our team culture.

  • For the third summer, we have the privilege of hosting two college interns at our Tel Aviv office. Eliza Mann, a pre-law incoming Junior at the University of Pennsylvania, comes to us through the TAMID Group Fellowship. Miriam Edery, a Junior at the Yeshiva University Sy Syms School of Business with a double major in Finance and Business Analytics, is part of the Yeshiva University Israel Summer Internship Program. Both interns will be assisting the team with business development and marketing initiatives. We are looking forward to an exciting summer working with them!


Professional events

On July 23, DLA Piper co-sponsored a Wine Tasting Event at Lool Ventures for parents of TAMID Fellowship interns. Participants heard from TAMID Fellowship Director Mike Schnall and Jacob Ner-David, TAMID Group Board member and internship host company executive, about the impact of the internship on students and companies alike. Jacob, a wine entrepreneur and investor, then led a discussion on the Israeli wine industry along with a wine tasting.

On July 16, we hosted the Yeshiva University Israel Summer Internship Program (YUISIP) Cohort along with Israeli law firm Arnon Tadmor Levy. Naomi Maryles, DLA Piper Managing Director, and Simon Weintraub, Partner, Arnon Tadmor Levy, shared their stories of moving to Israel and building successful professional and personal lives here. The interns asked insightful questions that inspired an interesting and educational conversation about career options in Israel, Israeli work culture, and the art of navigating life in Israel.

On May 3, we hosted the 8th Israel Real Estate Summit, a half-day event that brought together major Israeli institutions active in the global real estate markets, leading real estate professionals from around the world, and DLA Piper partners from the profiled regions. The Summit provided an opportunity for insightful discussion on the key trends and issues driving change, creating opportunities for growth, challenging market participants, and shaping the future of real estate in Israel and around the world. Over 150 people spent the day networking and deepening their understanding of the Israeli and global real estate markets at the Carlton Tel Aviv Hotel. Watch our highlights video here.

Ahead of the Summit, on May 2, we co-hosted a lunch for leading women in the Israeli real estate sector alongside BentallGreenOak (BGO), a global real estate investment company. Participants included top investment managers from various pension funds, as well as key speakers from the Summit. After Jonathan Ross (BGO) and Jeremy Lustman each gave introductory remarks, Abbe Franchot Borok, Managing Director and Head of US Debt at BGO, presented on real estate debt capital markets in the US, current advantages of being a lender, and evolving opportunities for investors in the market.

Also on May 2, we hosted DLA Piper partners and event presenters from around the world for an appreciation dinner at Darya at the Hilton Tel Aviv Hotel. Our team welcomed and toasted the group and thanked all involved with the Summit for their hard work leading up to the event.


Upcoming professional events

  • Women’s Networking Lunch in collaboration with Gornitzky & Co.: August 2023

  • Second DLA Piper Charity Basketball Tournament: September 2023

  • Global Employment event: Q4 2023

  • Global Life Sciences event: Q4 2023

  • Breakfast event with The Wall Street Journal writer Greg Zuckerman: Q4 2023

  • Israel Global Tech Summit: Q1 2024


Giving back to the community

Corporate social responsibility is one of the guiding principles of the DLA Piper Israel practice, and we have enjoyed engaging in sponsorships and community activities over the past few months.

We were pleased to once again co-sponsor teams running in this year's Jerusalem Marathon. Teams represented: Kav L’Noar, a mental health organization that motivates youth at risk to become responsible young adults; Leora and Eitan Ashman from Koach Eitan, an initiative that raises awareness of stroke and aphasia; and United Hatzalah of Israel, the largest independent, nonprofit, volunteer, and free emergency services organization in Israel. A number of our DLA Piper team members ran the 10K track.

In honor of Passover in April, we donated to Yad Eliezer, a poverty relief agency in Israel, in support of their holiday campaign. The agency distributed supermarket gift cards to thousands of impoverished individuals across Israel, enabling them to purchase what they needed to make their Passover a joyous one.

In commemoration of Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day in late April, we donated to the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization (IDFWO), a nonprofit organization that supports families who have lost their loved ones in the Israeli Defense Forces. IDFWO provides bereaved families with welfare and social programs as they cope with their loss. 

On May 23, the DLA Piper Israel team, along with client Michael Oberlander from Freightos volunteered at Leket Israel in honor of the holiday of Shavuot, a Biblical harvest festival. Leket collects nutritious surplus food from 600 farms and other places around Israel and delivers it to those in need. Over the course of three hours, our team sorted and crated 2,075 kilograms of cucumbers! Together with a second volunteer group, coincidently representing our client eToro, we collectively sorted, crated, and packaged over nine tons of fruit and vegetables – including lemons, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants.

As we have done for many years, we were proud to co-sponsor Comedy for Koby, a comedy tour organized by The Koby Mandell Foundation, which supports bereaved families of terror victims in Israel. The 2023 Summer Tour, which ran from May 31 to June 6, featured a variety of comedians from the US.

On June 18, our team volunteered at Otot Israel, an organization that supports teens and young adults at risk across Israel. We spent the morning painting an apartment on the Mount Scopus Campus of Hebrew University that is used as housing for program participants as they take their next steps toward independence.


Recent press

Print

Related capabilities

TechnologyLife SciencesEmploymentCorporateRegulatory and Government Affairs
Privacy policyLegal noticesCookie policyModern slaveryWhistleblowingSitemap

DLA Piper is a global law firm operating through various separate and distinct legal entities. For further information about these entities and DLA Piper's structure, please refer to the Legal Notices page of this website. All rights reserved. Attorney advertising.

© 2024 DLA Piper