Can you share what motivated you to make Aliyah to Israel and your journey in the legal profession?

When I was fourteen years old, I came to Israel on a three-month trip with my high school; we lived on a kibbutz, studied in the local school, and spent weekends and one other day a week touring the land. I think from that point on, I knew that I wanted to live here. I came to study in yeshiva straight after high school for a few years and then went back to England to study at university. I got married while at university, and my wife and I decided that as soon as possible, we would move here. So, as soon as I finished my degree, we came—I didn’t even stay for my graduation; we moved a couple of weeks after my final exam.

I initially came to study in Kollel. My journey into the legal profession began when I felt it was time to look for a job. I was quite open-minded when considering different vocations. I took an internship at Asserson to get a feel for what a career as a solicitor (the English equivalent of a lawyer) would be like. I found the work interesting and engaging and decided that law was the profession I wanted to pursue, so I applied for a training contract.

The path to qualifying as a solicitor in the UK is different from in the United States or Israel. It is also not unusual to start out by studying for a non-law degree. I had a degree in History from University College London. To Israelis, such a degree wouldn’t generally lead to anything other than a career as a history academic—as I was told by many Israelis. However, in the UK, it is much more common for lawyers, consultants, and graduate programme applicants to have a liberal arts degree. The process of qualifying as a lawyer involves a further two years of study and a two-year ‘Training Contract’, where you gain real hands-on experience.

Training Contracts are obviously much easier to come by in England. As far as I am aware, Asserson is the only firm outside the UK that offers this. I’ve been at Asserson for four and a half years now, counting both my time as a trainee and as a qualified lawyer.

Can you tell us a bit about Asserson?

It’s a very unique place. It’s a fully functioning British law firm; we work at a high level on both contentious and non-contentious matters, opposite top law firms in London. However, the largest office is in Tel Aviv. This allows us to literally ‘live the dream’—as our managing partner likes to say—living in Israel while working in an industry we love at a very high level.

The firm is made up of 75 lawyers, almost all of whom are olim who came to live here because they wanted to make Aliyah. Some have joined as partners, others, like myself, as trainees, and some as associates from top London firms.

Since Asserson has built itself up to become a high-calibre, reputable firm, it attracts a range of premium work. As such, we are able to absorb professionals deep into their legal careers who can maintain their high level of work and respective specialities when joining. In the last few months alone, we have taken on the former general counsel of Sotheby’s France and Monaco, an associate from Clyde & Co, and a partner from a large UK property firm.

What is Asserson up to now in Israel?

We offer a full range of legal services, so at any given point, we may be working on property and corporate transactions, commercial agreements and employment contracts, as well as litigation and arbitration.

We are obviously very well placed for Israeli clients, who come to us both by word of mouth and recommendations from Israeli law firms we work closely with. A lot of our corporate and property work involves Israelis investing and transacting in England—you may be surprised by how much of London is owned by Israelis!

We also have a natural UK-based client pool among the Jewish community in the UK, where we have become one of the go-to firms. However, many of our clients come to us by virtue of our reputation and have no connection to Israel or even the UK. For example, we are currently working on high-stakes litigation worth a few billion dollars involving a Russian oligarch. The client happens to be Jewish but lives in Europe and came to us because the law firm of one of his co-defendants thought very highly of our head of litigation and recommended us.

We don’t only practise English law. We also have U.S. and French practices.

How has being in Israel influenced the dynamics of your business, particularly in navigating international legal frameworks and cultural differences, compared to operating directly in the UK?

I’m a litigator. It is not always easy to pick up clients for litigation work—a lot is tied to reputation. It isn’t like commercial or corporate law, where you can build relationships with companies to become their go-to partner whenever they need legal services. Litigation is primarily based on reputation. Thankfully, we have won a number of high-profile cases that have built up our name. That, coupled with a hardworking and dedicated team, has enabled us to grow. In that respect, our location has not really affected us.

For Israelis or companies based in Israel that need English lawyers, we are very well placed. We can go directly to our clients’ offices at any time. This is a big contrast to firms that have a lawyer come out once a month. We don’t just have an Israel desk—we have the lawyers running the cases in Israel, which means we have much more client interaction than would be the case if we were based in England.

However, not being in London can be challenging. It is quite unique for a firm of our calibre not to have a large team where the bulk of the English legal market resides. As a result, we need to stand out through our ability to deliver, which keeps us on our toes. We also visit the UK often and ensure we always maintain and strengthen our relationships with our UK clients.

What were some of the most significant cultural challenges you faced in Israel, personally and professionally, after your immigration?

I found it quite hard navigating the culture here. In England, things are done very differently, and getting used to that difference can be hard. For example, in England, bureaucracy is much more regimented. If I were to apply for a job in England, I’d go through very specific channels and have to tick the correct bureaucratic boxes. Life in Israel is much more organic and fluid. It’s quite a learning curve. This is something important to bear in mind both professionally and personally.

I remember the first time I had an appointment at the bank here. We arrived ten minutes early, and the bank clerk, without looking up at us or her computer, said that we were mistaken and there was no appointment. We were disappointed, but in our lack of Israeli street-smartness, we walked straight out. Now, I would never do that—I have learnt to realise that often, ‘no’ simply means ‘ask again’ or ‘try harder’.

I think the culture has a lot of positive aspects. The fluidity of attitude leads to a lot of innovation and pragmatism, which we Brits can learn from.

Based on your experience, what advice would you give to other lawyers contemplating making Aliyah and continuing their legal careers in Israel?

Ultimately, if they want to start a practice here, there’s a lot of business in Israel. It is the start-up nation, and there’s tremendous opportunity in helping businesses develop. A lot of Israeli businesses also want to expand into other jurisdictions, like the U.S. or England. I would also advise them to speak to as many people as possible to get a feel for what kinds of opportunities exist here. People are happy to talk and make introductions. That’s how connections are made in Israel—through face-to-face meetings. There’s a real culture of helping one another. If someone is considering moving to Israel and practising here, they should certainly take advantage of that.