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Business Services
Lawyers
The number of lawyers working in Israel in
2014/2015 was 60,457 compared with
57,922 the previous year with 3,035 lawyers
qualifying in 2015 and 3,269 lawyers qualify-
ing in 2014.
Israel's largest law firm, Herzog Fox Neeman,
employed 276 lawyers at the end of 2015
compared with about 105 lawyers ten years
ago.
The average percentage of female partners in
the largest 25 firms at the end of 2015 was
31% compared with 29% in 2014 and 28%
in 2013, so there is a slight increase in the
percentages of female partners in law firms.
Over the past year, the trend for mergers has
strengthened among law firms. During 2015,
M. Firon & Co. merged with half of the Epstein,
Knoller, Chomsky, Osnat, Gilat, Tenenboim
& Co. firm.
In January 2016, Erdinast, Ben-Nathan & Co.
merged with 17 partners and associates from
prominent law firms and became Erdinast,
Ben-Nathan, Toledano & Co. (including Doni
Toledano, who was Head of the Mergers and
Acquisitions Department of Zellermayer,
Pelossof). Subsequently, Meitar Liquornik
Geva Leshem Tal & Co. merged with the Litiga-
tion Department of Zellermayer Pelossof Ros-
ovsky, Tsafrir & Co. headed by Eyal Rosovsky.
In February 2016, the law firm of Zellermayer
Pelossof Rosovsky Tsafrir & Co. was finally
closed down with the departure of its founder
Adv. Miki Zellermayer, who became a senior
partner at Fischer Behar Chen Well Ortion &
Co. law firm. Adv. Zellermayer joined the Merg-
ers and Acquisitions Department of the firm,
which is headed by Adv. Avraham Well.
The real estate sector has become very crowd-
ed with law firms in recent years. Significant
growth can be seen in the number of firms
engaged in the real estate sector. This year,
for the first time in the real estate field, and
in addition to the three regular quality cat-
egories, firms are rated in the Dun's Stars
section. These firms especially stood out in
their activities in 2015. The size of real estate
departments, the type of clients, the range
of areas and the size of projects handled are
testimony to these firms strength in the real
estate field.
Another sector that stood out in 2015 was
the field of white collar offenses. This field
includes tax and securities offenses, fraud
and fraudulently receiving goods, bribery and
money laundering offenses. White collar suits
are considered complex and consequently
there is significant importance to the lawyer
representing the plaintiff. In recent years, vari-
ous affairs have attracted attention and been
a greater part of the public dialogue than in
the past.
During 2015, the Ministry of Justice completed
the formulation of the fraud and breach of
trust bill. This is an amendment to a puni-
tive law that outlines what is permitted and
prohibited for ministers and public officials
in terms of criminal behavior. This is another
hint of the change in approach toward these
offenses. There are claims that the law is cur-
rently too obscure and therefore requires an
amendment.
Accountants
For the first time, ranking of consultancy
activities provided by accounting firms was
carried out as part of Dun's 100. Consultancy
activities are a growing field of activity at
most firms, which are not only focused on
the traditional world of auditing but also the
many and diverse comprehensive aspects of
the routine business activities of their clients.
Among the areas of consultancy there are the
following services: advice on finances, taxa-
tion, internal auditing, appraisals, risks man-
agement, forensic auditing, IT consultancy
and more. During the ranking process, the
consultancy activities of the firms in 2015
were examined with an emphasis on fields of
consultancy, type of clients, and the number
of hours as well as the consultancy the was
provided.
The main area of consultancy for firms still
remains internal auditing with 45% of firms
providing consultancy in this field. 24% of
firms currently provide consultancy services
in forensic auditing; 22% provide their cli-
ents Financial consultancy; 20% provide val-
ue appraisal services, and 10% of firms are
engaged in the field of risks management.
50%
45%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
24%
20%
22%
20%
15%
10%
10%
5%
0
Internal Auditing Forensic Audit-
ing
Financial Con-
sultation
Appraisals
Risk Manage-
ment
Source: Rated firms
The Percentage of Firms Providing Consultation on Various Activities
258
2016
|
DUN’S
100
DUN’S
100
|
2016
DUN’S
100
|
2016
2016
|
DUN’S
100
Business Services