Goldfarb Gross Seligman & Co.’s newly merged dispute resolution practice demonstrates particular strength in corporate litigation, with a notable emphasis on shareholder disputes. Among its other areas of activity, the team handled a steady stream of tax disputes, misrepresentation matters, IP litigation, and real estate disputes, among other issues. Recommended practitioners include firm vice-chair Zvi Bar-Nathan, who is highly regarded for arbitration and mediation proceedings, as well as litigation; Hagit Blaiberg, who handles complex arbitral and judicial disputes, including class actions; Aaron Michaeli, who specialises in corporate litigation, class actions and derivative suits; class actions specialist Yehuda Rosenthal; and the ‘insightful and knowledgeable’ Michael Ginsburg. Jeremy Benjamin and Yori Nehushtan are also noted.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team displayed very high competency in all relevant legal matters, along with clear understanding of the business environment we operate in, and the implications of the legal activities on our business operations. Great team work - internally and with us as a client, to make sure topics are advanced.’

  • ‘The service that I received was amazing. The team was dedicated at all times. Lawyers looked for creative, smart and intelligent solutions to suit my preferences. They also were very human and supportive all the way.’

  • ‘Zvi Bar-Nathan is one of the leading international arbitration practitioners in Israel. He is fair, efficient, has common sense, and is uniquely knowledgeable about Israeli arbitration law. Zvi Bar-Nathan knows arbitration and is a very effective arbitrator, who understands the case put before him immediately.’

  • ‘Michael Ginsburg is very responsive when I ask for case updates or case strategy assessment(s). Thorough and knowledgeable of the areas of law involved in the matter he supports. Insightful and knowledgeable of the industry my company is in.’

  • ‘I worked with Jeremy Benjamin. He is a brilliant strategist, he is creative with his arguments, he understand the pressure points in a claim and how to exploit them for the benefit of his clients. He is an incredibly hard-worker, he makes himself available at all hours of the day. He is astute, and will go that extra mile.’

  • ‘One of the most important things that happened to me with the team under Igor's management is availability. The level of availability and speed of response was exceptional. Alongside this skill, we received extremely courteous and professional treatment.’

  • ‘The firm, and especially Jeremy Benjamin, are very capable. They quickly understood our case and the opportunities. Lawyers were proactive, very responsive and effectively managed the formal steps of the court case.’

  • ‘I mainly work with Maya Nusbaum Rapaport, who is an excellent attorney: professional, creative, available and with a broad view of the client and their needs.’

Key clients

  • Google, including YouTube.
  • Various companies of the Credit Suisse group: Credit Suisse(UK), Credit Suisse Fund Administration and Credit Suisse Investment Services (Cayman), Credit Suisse US Securities LLC
  • Coca Cola Israel (The Central Bottling Company),
  • Israel Railways
  • Murchinson
  • Fahn Kanne & Co. Grant Thornton Israel
  • Nestlé
  • Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
  • Goldman Sachs & Co.
  • Ziv Haft Trusts and Holdings 2003
  • PJSC Aeroflot - Russian Airlines (Aeroflot)
  • Shufersal
  • The Phoenix Group
  • MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company
  • Applied Materials
  • AIG
  • Netivei Ayalon Co. (Ayalon Highways)
  • Shapir Civil and Marine Engineering
  • The El Al Company
  • Alonyal, McDonald's Israel
  • Hamashbir 365 Holdings (Hamashbir Lazarchan)
  • Keshet Broadcasting (Keshet 12)
  • Canada Israel Group
  • Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC)
  • The Central Distribution Company
  • VTB Bank / BM – Bank (Bank of Moscow)
  • Fortissimo Capital
  • Sint Maarten Telephone Company
  • Tidhar Development and Investment
  • Jafora Tabori
  • Tempo Marketing (1981)
  • Mey Eden Production (2007)
  • IMI Systems (formerly Israel Military Industries)
  • Tel Aviv - Yafo Municipality
  • Rosario Capital
  • U. Dori Group, and its senior executives
  • Dorad Energy
  • Dalia Power Energies
  • NMC/ Hed Arzi Music
  • Alon Israel Oil Company
  • Tadiran Consumer and Technology Products
  • Newpan
  • Orbs
  • IBBL Spirit
  • Rotshtein Real Estate
  • Alrov Real Estate and Hotels,
  • Mr. Ilan Katzens, CEO of Golden Arm Manpower
  • Nassar Stone and General Contracting
  • ELA Recycling Corporation
  • Gutgold Gideon
  • Eko Alfa
  • Hallo 015
  • W&S Technology Partners
  • Mr. Ran Shtarkmanm, former CEO of Plaza Centers
  • Forex Capital Markets
  • ACUM
  • Orasis Pharmaceuticals
  • Exalink
  • G-ILS Transportation
  • Senso Optics
  • Syneron Candela
  • Scisparc
  • Horizon Gold Investments
  • Shookit
  • Olam International
  • Mashcal
  • Various Municipal Authorities in Israel
  • Gree Electric Appliances of Zhuhai
  • Mr. Maor Lahav, Co-Founder & COO at Panda Trading Applications (DBA Panda TS)

Work highlights

  • Representing Murchinson, as an activist shareholder, in a struggle for control of American-Israeli Nano Dimension.
  • Representing non-profit ACUM in an appeal to the Supreme Court contesting a decision by the Israel Tax Authority to view ACUM as a corporate entity with ownership rights over the copyrighted materials it administers for authors, composers and music publishers in Israel.
  • Representing Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in two tax litigation cases before the Supreme Court involving a unique Israeli taxation mechanism.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Hall of fameGoldfarb Gross Seligman & Co.
Adv. Bar-Nathan is Vice Chairman of the firm and Head of the Commercial and International Litigation Department, and a member of the Executive Committee. Adv. Bar-Nathan is a renowned expert in the various fields of commercial litigation and handles litigation in the civil-commercial field, including in the fields of corporate law, contract law, banking law, communications, libel, tender law, and more. Adv. Bar-Nathan is involved in a prominent share of the complex commercial disputes held in Israel, and possesses extensive experience in the representation of clients in international disputes. Among others, Adv. Bar-Nathan represents foreign plaintiffs and respondents in legal proceedings in Israel, represents clients in enforcement proceedings of foreign verdicts and of international arbitration, assists foreign entities to receive temporary and permanent verdicts against Israeli entities, and represents Israeli plaintiffs and respondents in legal proceedings held abroad. Adv. Bar-Nathan possesses unique expertise relating to alternative dispute resolution, including complex arbitration and mediation, with an emphasis on international commercial-business arbitration involving public figures and prominent businesspeople. In 2012, Adv. Bar-Nathan was appointed as a member of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC) and as the Head of the International Arbitration Committee of ICC Israel, positions he held until 2018. In July 2016, Adv. Bar-Nathan was admitted as a member of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) arbitration panel. Adv. Bar-Nathan serves as an arbitrator in numerous complex local and international arbitrations. Among others, Adv. Bar-Nathan possesses significant reputation relating to sensitive proprietary disputes in the family law field which involve capital and assets. In this capacity, Adv. Bar-Nathan represents high net worth individuals in complex personal status and inheritance disputes. Adv. Bar-Nathan’s extensive experience and significant expertise in the international arbitration field is consistently recognized by international guides, including The Legal 500 and Expert Guides, which rank him as one of the leading attorneys in the field. As part of his public activities, Adv. Bar-Nathan has served as the Head of the Legislative Committee on Contract Law in the Israel Bar Association, as a judge at the Israel Bar Association’s Disciplinary Regional Tribunal and National Tribunal, and as the Chairman of the New Codification Committee of the Israel Bar Association, as well as a member of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC in Paris (as stated above) and Head of the Arbitration Committee of the Israel Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Adv. Bar-Nathan lectures at various academic institutions.
Goldfarb Gross Seligman & Co.
Adv. Blaiberg is the Head of the Corporate, Administrative and Class Action Litigation Department, and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Adv. Blaiberg possesses extensive experience regarding complex commercial disputes, and has unique expertise relating to corporate litigation and securities litigation, including shareholder disputes, as well as internet litigation, class actions and derivative actions. Adv. Blaiberg represents clients in an array of complex litigation proceedings in all courts of law and tribunals, as well as in complex arbitration and mediation proceedings. She possesses extensive experience regarding shareholders, debenture-holders and creditor settlements in companies, and frequently represents clients in insolvency proceedings, liquidation and receivership proceedings. Adv. Blaiberg is a renowned expert in internet law. She represents search-engines and large corporations which operate in the technology and internet fields, in litigation proceeding and various commercial disputes, and possesses great knowledge of the foreign legislation and rulings in the field, which Israeli courts address while deciding their verdicts. Adv. Blaiberg possesses significant reputation regarding the representation of some of Israel’s leading corporations, shareholders and corporate executives, operating in various fields, in proceedings relating to derivative actions. She also represents Israeli and foreign corporations and corporate executives having class actions brought against them, regarding corporate and securities law, insurance law, consumer protection law, antitrust law, prohibition of discrimination and more.  Her many years of experience in the field serve her clients through filing requests for approval of the claim as a class action and when required, through the class action itself and the attempts to resolve the dispute and minimize the corporation’s exposure to financial and reputational damage. Among Adv. Blaiberg’s clients are Israeli and international private and public companies which operate in the fields of banking, retail, insurance, internet, communications and telecommunications, technology, and more; and she also represents the directors, senior executives and shareholders of these companies. Adv. Blaiberg possesses significant reputation as a mediator and arbitrator of complex business disputes which involve large scale capital. In the past, Adv. Blaiberg served as the Chair of the Arbitration Committee of the Israel Bar Association and as the Academic Coordinator of the Arbitration Institute of the Israel Bar Association. She currently serves as Co-Head of the Class Action and Derivative Action Committee of the Israel Bar Association. Alongside her professional work, Adv. Blaiberg lectures at academic institutions and professional forums, and also serves as a lecturer on behalf of the Israel Bar Association in her fields of expertise, among them are class actions, derivative actions, civil procedure, contract law, commercial litigation, debt restructuring, arbitration, the enforcement of foreign verdicts, and more.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Zvi Bar-Nathan, Hagit Blaiberg, Aaron Michaeli, Moshe Mazor, Benjamin Rotenberg

Other key lawyers

Yehuda Rosenthal, Moti Arad, Yigal Kava, Daphna Kapeliuk, Michael Ginsburg, Yori Nehushtan, Giora Ben-Tal, Eitan Rotschild, Adi Yogev, Shai Erez, Jeremy Benjamin, Maya Nusbaum Rapaport