Mr Gilad Winkler > Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co > Tel Aviv, Israel > Lawyer Profile

Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co acts for traditional and alternative lenders, project developers and multinational consortiums in project finance and development mandates in a wide range of major infrastructure developments. Headed by Gilad Winkler, the team is involved in some of Israel’s largest rail projects (including the Tel Aviv LRT), major defence projects (the IDF’s supply centre and intelligence campus), and multiple significant water projects (such as the Sorek Plot B desalination facility), among other social and utilities, transport, and energy infrastructure developments. In addition, the team also has experience in acting for infrastructure funds, including listed funds. Also recommended is Hagit Horowitz, whom clients have called ‘very knowledgeable, from procurement to completion, and all phases in between‘.

Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co is ‘highly skilled in aviation law’, particularly on the contentious side, where it secures a significant volume of consumer, cargo and civil litigation on behalf of major airlines. The team is also active in regulatory and finance matters in the aviation space, while on the infrastructure front it routinely handles road and rail projects. Department head Shirly Kazir is widely lauded for her aviation industry expertise, with sources commending her as an ‘outstanding leader’ — she also handles maritime disputes. Other key contacts include projects head Gilad Winkler and senior litigator Reuven Behar.

Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co advises fund managers and major investors across the spectrum of fund activity from tax structuring and formation, to ongoing management and investment activity. The practice group has a proven track record in structuring large CVCs and other venture capital funds, private equity funds, secondary funds, real estate and infrastructure funds, and ETFs. In addition, the firm has complementary high-level expertise in tax, securities, real estate, infrastructure, and technology, and also advises on the regulatory treatment of investment funds. Eran Yaniv and Raz Tepper jointly heads the venture capital and private equity practice. Gilad Winkler and Ron Sitton are also recommended.

Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co is rated firm-wide for its strengths across a range of corporate, financing, and litigation matters, all of which combine to provide end-to-end legal support on infrastructure developments, financing and investment deals, and regulatory negotiations. Headed by Gilad Winkler, the team acts for domestic and international energy companies and project developers, banks, alternative lenders, and investment funds. Of particular note, the team has begun acting for the rights holders in the Tamar gas reservoir, the only operational natural gas reservoir at the time of writing. Another key partner in the team is Hagit Horowitz, who handles contentious and non-contentious issues relating to large-scale infrastructure and energy projects.

The banking and finance practice at Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co is a popular choice for event-driven deals, such as acquisition and project financings, with an impressive record in pathfinder transactions. Significantly, the team’s recent work for the State of Israel on the privatisation of Bank Leumi represented the end of bank nationalisation in Israel — group head Miri Kimhi led the advice. The group continues to cement its reputation as a favourite with local and international lenders, with recent mandates for J.P. Morgan, Bank Hapoalim and Israel Discount Bank. In addition, it consistently secures roles from prominent corporate borrowers, including private equity funds. Other key names include Gilad Winkler, who heads the project finance practice, and up-and-coming partner Dikla Lavy-Fischer, who has a ‘profound understanding of the law’.