Balter, Guth, Aloni & Co.

Balter, Guth, Aloni & Co. (BGA) was founded in 1974 by Advocates Moshe Balter and Ehud Guth, and is one of Israel’s leading law firms, and has been ranked as one of the largest firms in D&B’s ranking since the ranking was launched.

The firm employs about 90 attorneys, of which 23 are partners, in five branches – Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Tiberias, and Yagur. In 1991, the Supreme Court (temp. appointment) and district court judge, the Late Shaul Aloni, joined the firm. In 1994, The Late Dr. Meir Rosen, an international law expert, one of the drafters of the Camp David Agreement and The Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, joined the firm. In 2013, Adv. Orit Noked, who served as the Minister of Agriculture and Deputy Minister of Commerce, Labor, and Industry and as a Knesset Member in the years 2002-2013, joined the firm.

Approach: The firm’s size and professional diversity enable an immediate and comprehensive answer for urgent cases, such as restraining orders, HCJ petitions etc. the collaboration between the departments, which specialize in diverse legal practices, allows to review and handle all the legal aspects of the case. BGA believes in personal and comprehensive service for every client and aims to involve the client in all aspects and stages of the legal proceeding, as we recognize the value and importance of such involvement for achieving optimal results and providing a professional but yet personal and direct service to each client.

Clients: BGA represents domestic and foreign clients of all sorts and sizes, including governmental corporations, municipal authorities, religious orders, farmers, Kibbutz, etc. The clientele includes Fortune 500 corporations, including multinationals with operations in the fields of infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and high-tech. BGA represents its clients in all aspects of civil and commercial law, including: Corporate and commercial litigation and class actions, international commercial law, capital markets, real estate, planning and zoning, administrative law, medical malpractice, torts and insurance, pharma, labor law, antitrust, taxation, tourism, hotels, aviation, communication and more.

International Operations: BGA is involved in international operations in the U.S., Canada, west and Eastern Europe, Japan and China. The firm has collaborations with leading global law firms, and since 2004 has been working closely with Hertzfeld & Rubin P.C. -a leading Wall-Street law firm, with branches in New Jersey, Miami, LA, and Bucharest. BGA is a member of Consulegis, a professional association of attorneys with more than 150 members worldwide.

The Firm’s Departments

Corporate and Commercial Litigation – the department specializes in representing clients in all types of civil and commercial litigations, including corporate law, corporate governance disputes, shareholder disputes, derivative actions etc., contracts, torts and insurance, planning and zoning, real-estate, hotels, tourism and aviation, pharma, labor, administrative law, and more. The department has extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of litigation, and its attorneys represent clients in complex disputes in hundreds of millions of NIS cases.

Class Actions – the department has extensive and unique experience in this field and represents its clients in a wide array of matters, including consumer law, securities, product liability, insurance, and banking. The department’s clientele includes large and well-known leading corporations, domestic and international, including insurance, pharmaceuticals and transportation companies, and airlines.

Planning and Zoning – the department is involved in the preparation of master plans and represents local commissions and large infrastructure entities, such as the National Roads Company, Israel Railways, The Light Rail in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, Natgaz and more. The department provides ongoing legal consultation to Israel’s largest projects, in expropriations and claims thereof, as well as in expropriations under provision 197 of the planning and zoning statutory law due to master plan approvals, betterment charges and more.

Real-estate – the department has extensive and comprehensive experience in representation and legal consult to corporations, Kibbutz, private initiators and contractors in diverse real-estate transactions, within residential and commercial properties, including combination ventures, construction and contracting services, acquisition of shares of real-estate corporations, national outline plan 38 and clearance and construction, financial support, guarantees and more. The department provides legal support from early stages of a transaction, through rezoning and development, and up to tax planning, execution and sales.

Tort, Insurance, and Medical Malpractice – the department has diverse specializations and represents Israel’s largest insurance companies, and handles various cases in a wide array of matters, including professional liability of physicians, attorneys, accountants, architects, engineers, surveyors, planning and zoning commissions etc., insurance, slander and more.

Labor Law – the department represents multinationals and domestic corporations, including employers and workers’ organizations and unions, in various personal and collective labor law issues, including employee rights, mergers, acquisitions and liquidations, freedom of occupation limitation, trade secrets, non-compete clauses, negotiations, agreement drafting, ongoing counsel and litigation. The department also possesses a unique expertise regarding Kibbutz-related issues.

Corporate and Commercial Law – the department represents public and private corporations in a variety of transactions, such as fundraising, mergers, split-offs, acquisitions, M&A, reorganizations and privatizations. The department handles the planning, execution, and facilitation of the transactions, including counsel, negotiation, due diligence, etc. In addition, the department provides legal support for one of the world’s largest pharmaceuticals companies and its subsidiaries, including in all of their clinical research.

Agriculture – the department represents farmers and agricultural corporations, including Kibbutz, Moshavs, regional corporations, municipal councils and committees. It also specializes in agricultural damages claims.

Taxation – the department handles domestic and International taxation aspects in various tax fields, including income tax, VAT and other indirect taxes, real-estate tax, The Capital Investments Encouragement Law and more. The department counsels domestic and foreign entities on various tax aspects in relation to their investments in Israel and overseas. It also plays a leading role in structuring M&A transactions and employee remuneration plans. In addition, the department represents taxpayers in litigation in assessment objections and appeals.

Hotels, Tourism and Aviation – the department represents foreign and domestic corporations, including airlines and hotel owners, and provides its clients with ongoing legal support and counsel, from drafting terms and conditions, through supervising lotteries and promotions and preparing legal opinions, up to sale/acquisition of shares, aircrafts, hotels and more, as well as litigation.

Religious Orders – the department represents churches and Christian religious institutes, and provides a broad range of legal services. It has extensive and longstanding experience in the unique aspects of the operations of such religious institutes in Israel, which enjoy a full professional blanket for all of the institute’s needs, including tax, labor, planning and zoning aspects and litigations, on the basis of a multi-departmental collaboration.