Litigation in Israel
The Israeli legal system shares a common ancestor with the American one, since it traces its roots to British rule. But despite applying the common law system, litigation in Israel has several key differences from litigation in the United States.
To learn more about Israeli litigation, I spoke with Shai Granot, the founding partner of Granot-Speiser in Tel Aviv.
Why should you continue to read this post about litigation in Israel?
You are interested to see whether Israeli litigation is more similar to its neighbors in the Middle East or to its cultural cousins, like the United States or European countries.
Instead of visiting Israel for the culture, history, and warm weather, you want to visit its courts, but want some information first.
You want to hear about page limits!
Shai Granot, the founding partner of Granot-Speiser in Tel Aviv. This interview has been lightly edited.
Background
Can you tell me about the kinds of disputes you handle in your legal practice?
I practice in a boutique firm, which is considered to be one of Israel’s leading boutiques. We handle a very wide variety of cases, from general commercial litigation, to insurance law, and corporate disputes. A sample of the cases I have handled includes breach of contract disputes, class actions, shareholders disputes, securities disputes, real estate disputes, professional liability disputes, D&O cases, and defamation cases.
Just this month, I finished a reply filing in a class action dispute. This case involves allegations of manipulating the exchange rates between foreign currency and the Israeli shekel while selling products at Ben Gurion Airport.
Another case I worked on this month is a dispute in Tel Aviv District Court between two shareholders of a private company. In that case, one shareholder filed a lawsuit against his partner, alleging that he was pushed away from their company.
What type of clients do you generally represent in disputes?
I represent a great variety of clients. Many of my clients are foreign and domestic insurance companies and their insureds. In Israel, some of the largest companies are insurance companies, just as in other countries. We also represent several public companies in commercial litigation cases, and many private companies.
In addition to large companies, I represent individuals. Some are businessmen with multiple businesses, while others only work in one business.
Besides Microsoft Office, what software do you use in your practice?
My firm uses ODCANIT. This is software for running a law office, and we use it to store all of our documents, manage our accounting, and recording the hours we bill to clients.
We also use software called clegal to present the annexes of pleadings that we file with the court.
And we also use other software including, of course, Zoom.
What books and websites do you use for legal research?
We use LexisNexis for legal research in the U.S., as well as Nevo to research domestic law. We also use some textbooks.
At the start of 2021, Israel’s civil law procedure regulations will be replaced by new regulations, so our firm has bought new books on the new regulations.
Do you electronically file pleadings with the court? Or must you send paper copies of them to the courthouse?
We file pleadings electronically through a judicial website. But sometimes, especially when dealing with long pleadings (or ones that contain many annexes), the court orders us to file copies of pleadings in physical format as well as electronically.
Generally speaking, how many pages are the complaints or initial pleadings you see in your work?
Until the end of 2020, there were no page limits complaints could be very long. You could easily see a fifty page complaint without annexes, especially in complex cases.
But starting January 1, 2021, new regulations become effective that limit the length of pleadings. Now, in Magistrate Courts, pleadings cannot be more than eleven pages; in District Courts, they may not be more than thirty pages.
I have been practicing under the old regulations for many years. This is a major change for me that we will need to adjust to. I find it easier to write without page limits.
Generally speaking, how long does it take for a case to go from complaint to judgment?
Courts in Israel are overloaded, just as they are in the U.S. I would say that a case can be decided in Magistrate Court within approximately 2-3 years. But in District Court, it would be probably take longer, an average of 3-5 years. I have handled some cases that exceeded ten years of litigation, so that happens, too.
Does Israel have specialized courts that only hear commercial cases?
Yes. In Tel Aviv District Court and in the District Court of Haifa, there are special departments for economic affairs. In Tel Aviv, there are three judges that only hear economic lawsuits. The rules are the same in the economic affairs courts, but the judges are specialized.
Israel also has some other specialized courts for labor law, family matters, and religious matters.
I understand that Israel has specialized labor courts. How do the procedures in these courts differ from other Israeli courts?
In this short interview, I can’t point to specific differences, but there are some. The regulations are partially the same as in the civil courts, but other parts are specifically for labor courts. Labor courts are usually pro-employee.
Who decides the facts in a commercial case? Is it a judge or a jury?
There are no juries in Israel, not even in criminal cases. Our system is different in the one in the U.S. Only a judge decides the facts in every case.
Generally speaking, how is evidence exchanged between the parties before trial? Do you get to interview the opposing witnesses before the trial?
Israel does not have much evidence exchange before trial. The only requirement is that parties to a dispute are obliged to forward relevant documents to their counterparty. Then, after the last pretrial hearing, the judge usually orders the parties to file their evidence with the court by sworn affidavits. The only time we can examine our opponent’s witnesses is during cross examination at trial, in front of the judge.
If you win, does the other side reimburse your attorneys’ fees?
Formally, yes. But in practice, judges usually do not grant realistic sums to compensate for the true cost of litigation. Over the last few years, judges have been trying to impose awards for a realistic amount of expenses, but it is still not so common for a party to recover their true expenses.
Are the Israeli courts open to the public? Can ordinary people watch a commercial trial?
Usually yes. But there are some matters that are tried behind closed doors, like when a minor is involved or when the case involves issues of state security or family matters.
Do you believe that Israeli courts have a particular strength for resolving commercial disputes? How about a weakness?
A strength is the quality of Israel’s judges. The economic department in the District Courts of Tel Aviv or Haifa, or the District Courts in Israel’s center area that may not have an exclusively economic department, handle some of Israel most complicated and biggest cases. The judges in those courts are excellent and they know commercial affairs deeply.
On the other hand, most of Israeli courts are overloaded and it often takes a long time from filing a complaint to judgment. Also, I would avoid litigating an economic case in courts outside of Tel Aviv or the center of Israel because judges there do not have the same level of expertise.
How often do you go to the courthouse? When you are there, do you need to wear a special robe or wig?
Before the covid pandemic, I went to court about once or twice per week. Most of my work is done at my office.
And at court, we don’t need to wear a wig, but attorneys do need to wear a robe when they appear in the District Courts and the Supreme Court.