The Legal 500

Gilat, Bareket & Co., Reinhold Cohn Group is a member of Reinhold Cohn Group (which handles mainly non-contentious IP matters and registration), and advises on a range of complex contentious IP issues, including a growing amount of patent litigation. Clients include Puma, Unilever and Philips. David Gilat is recommended for ‘a common-sense, practical approach and a deep knowledge of the law’. Yoav Oestreicher is a ‘business-savvy, aggressive litigator’. Tamir Afori joined as partner in November 2008 from the Israel Ministry of Justice; he has a special focus on copyright litigation.

Luthi & Co is especially well known for complex patent litigation (which many other full-service law firms more focused on non-contentious patent work are ill-equipped to advised on). Clients include GSK, Merck, Nortel and Bayer. Richard Luthi has a ‘a rare combination of legal and technical skills, and thinks well on his feet’.

S. Horowitz & Co is particularly recommended for complex contentious trade mark, patent and copyright work. Clients include Teva, BMW and Nokia. ‘Smart, creative and responsive’ partner Tal Band is recommended.

Though Eitan-Mehulal Law Group handles a good deal of IP litigation, the firm is slightly better known in the market for its non-contentious IP work. Tally Eitan and Shirley Gal-Zaken, who has a special focus on trade marks, advise clients such as Nike, Samsung, Visa, Tata and Lenovo.

Luzzatto & Luzzatto Patent Attorneys is best known for its non-contentious IP work, including patent, trade mark and design issues. Kfir Luzzatto heads a team which acts for clients such as Eli Lilly.

Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer is unusual in having a major US office focused on IP work, which generates substantial cross-border IP instructions involving both the US and Israel. Zeev Pearl, Dor Cohen-Zedek and Nachman Cohen-Zedek are recommended. The firm advised Given Imaging on patent litigation (which ultimately settled) with Olympus relating to capsule endoscopy products. Traditionally strong on the non-contentious side, the firm has also been steadily building up capability for disputes work; in 2007, Kobi Meir joined from Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co to focus on intellectual property litigation for clients such as telecoms companies.

Founded in the 1940s, Seligsohn Gabrieli & Co is one of the most established IP firms in Israel. Arnan Gabrieli has a particular focus on patent litigation.

Dr Shlomo Cohen & Co Law Office is best known for expertise in complex patent litigation, though the firm also handles a range of other IP work. Name partner Shlomo Cohen is ‘a very capable lawyer for IP litigation with decades of experience’.

Adin-Liss, Law Offices is a niche IP firm which has been building an excellent reputation since its formation in 2006. The firm recently advised on several major trade mark cases, including representing Einstein Progetti & Prodotti, the Italian jeans manufacturer, on trade mark litigation, and acting for B4U in a trade marks case relating to cosmetics. Name partners Dan Adin and Eran Liss are recommended. Other areas of expertise include IP issues relating to the internet, and copyright and design issues. The firm is recommended for ‘dedication in handling cases’, ‘availability even out of normal working hours’, and ‘solid strategy in litigation’.

Balter, Guth, Aloni & Co’s Sarah Presenti has niche expertise in trade marks. Clients include Sony and Virgin.

Ehrlich & Fenster’s Gal Ehrlich is ‘good for non-contentious patents work’ in advising a predominantly Israeli client base, as well as clients from the US and Japan.

Ellen B. Shankman & Associates is a highly specialised niche IP firm which prides itself on providing partner-led advice on all phases of cases. The firm has expertise in unusual or complicated trade mark and internet matters. The firm advises a particularly strong Fortune 500 US client base from the media, IT, banking and retail sectors. Ellen Shankman is ‘incredibly responsive and nice to deal with’, ‘reacts quickly in a way which partners at some other large firms often do not’ and ‘always gives a client her full attention’, say clients.

Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co applies firm-wide expertise in litigation to its contentious IP advice to a hi-tech and IT-heavy client base in relation to licensing, OEM disputes and copyright litigation. Clients include Polysack Plastic Industries and Merck. The team includes a number of excellent all-round transactional lawyers and litigators who handle some IP work as part of a broad practice.

Glusman Shem-Tov Chowers Broid & Co expanded its IP deparment when Miriam Hackmey joined in 2007 as partner from Luzzatto & Luzzatto Patent Attorneys, where she headed the trade mark department. The firm handles a broad range of IP matters, including trade marks, patent term extensions, patent and trade mark litigation and worldwide IP portfolio management. The firm recently successfully represented Gianni Versace in trade mark actions against an Israeli entity which had been using the company’s trade mark for over 20 years. The firm has also recently handled an important IP matter with an international dimension involving the UK. Zvi Chowers is a litigator who handles both commercial and intellectual property disputes work in a roughly 50-50 split.

Herzog Fox & Neeman’s Neil Wilkof and Karen Elburg advise on licensing, copyright, trade mark and trade secret issues for clients such as Merck Serono and Microsoft.

M Seligman & Co brings a background in litigation to its contentious IP work. Rakefet Peled heads a team which acted for Maariv, the Israeli newspaper, on a copyright dispute with a business newspaper, and represented NMC music entertainment, the Israeli music company, on a dispute with an artist.

Ron Gazit, Rotenberg & Co’s Eyal Sage brings expertise in technology and IT issues to IP advice to clients such as Microsoft (though outside the IT sphere, such as pharmaceutical, the firm is less active).

Of-counsel Edward Langer at Shibolet & Co is a registered US and Israeli patent attorney who acts for clients such as Cellmax and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.