Papish Karel & Co., Law Office

Papish Karel & Co., Law Office is one of Israel’s leading boutique firms in the fields of real estate and urban renewal, particularly in representing tenants in urban renewal projects. The firm’s founders, Advocates Lia Karel and Lior Papish, have vast experience in the field of urban renewal and the population of hundreds of apartments in dozens of urban renewal projects, of various scopes.

The firm’s unique strength stems from the unique combination between the years of the team’s accumulated experience and the personal accompaniment provided by the partners themselves, in the field. The firm’s team supports its clients in every step of the way, from initial project stages through planning, construction, and population. The team is characterized by expertise, determination, creativity, as well as profound planning, taxation, and legal understanding – but, just as important, the ability to provide each client with personal, respectful, and inclusive service, which lead to accurate results and optimal success, one that creates real value for the client.

On top of its legal expertise, the firm bring vast experience in working with local authorities, city engineers, planning committees, municipal administrations, entities, and developers – a combination that guarantees homeowners comprehensive support and peace of mind, throughout the process. As of today, the firm represents over 100 projects in which hundreds of apartments are planned, including in the Krayot, Tiberius, Ra’anana, Herzliya, Petah Tikva, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, and Rishon LeZion.

Transparency, Expertise, Thoroughness, and Full Availability to Clients

Papish, Karel and Co. is a growing firm, which today accounts for 6 attorneys. The firm has made it its mission to provide the best legal services, while working in transparency, professional expertise, thoroughness, and full availability.

The team has the ability to talk to the tenants at eye level, while explaining and simplifying the process of urban renewal for them as well as its different steps, aiming to offer them a better quality of life. The firm provides integral services, which refers to every project as its own unique project. This fact is evident from early stages of uniting apartment owners to promote the project, choosing the project’s outline, examining the planning, financial, and social feasibility of implementing the project, managing a developers tender to maximize returns for homeowners, negotiating the legal agreement and receiving all guarantees and collaterals, up to the delivery of the new apartments to the owners, and the registration of the asset.

Thinking Outside the Box; Success in Getting Delayed Projects Moving

The firm is managed by its partners and seasoned lawyers, Advocates Lia Karel and Lior Papish. The two partners possess the ability to think outside of the box, thus, succeeding in moving delayed projects forward, as well as in changing urban plans and increasing tenants’ returns in projects that started out with a more basic outline. A good example of this is one of the firm’s projects in Rishon LeZion. The project started as a retrofitting project (NOP 38/1) and upon the firm’s realization that the tenants are willing, the outline changed to demolition and reconstruction (NOP 38/2), so homeowners received new apartments rebuilt from the ground up.
Advocates Karel and Papish frequently appear in the media as experts for tenants’ representation in urban renewal projects. Both lawyers are members of the Bar Association’s urban renewal committees, in which they work to promote the field in terms of legislation, standardization, and regulation. In addition, and as part of the collaboration between the Bar Association and the urban renewal administrations, the two partners lecture to residents on behalf of the local municipalities. These lectures focus on various topics such as tenant rights, conversions, handling obstacles and advancing procedures, safety during construction, real estate taxation, and more.

Comprehensive Services

Homeowners represented by the firm are given the required comprehensive services to move the project forward to its successful completion, including representation during sales transactions in a manner that protects their rights, handling inheritance and will orders, appointing a guardian, completing registration in the land registry, providing legal advice, and more.

The Partners

Adv. Lia Karel

Adv. Karel has over 10 years of experience in the field of real estate in general, and particularly in urban renewal. She is an LL.B. and LL.M. graduate from Jerusalem’s Hebrew University – one of the best universities in Israel and the world. Adv. Karel is highly experienced in representation during complex real estate sales transactions as well as in urban renewal projects, pinui-binui, NOP 38/1, and NOP 38/2. In addition to her legal knowledge and expertise, she brings to the table her extensive perspective – legal, planning, and business wise as well. Thus, she operates to promote the project in the best possible manner. Adv. Karel provides support and ongoing counsel for right owners in real estate transactions, from planning procedures, Including the approval of city building plans, negotiating agreements, legal support regarding guarantees, collaterals, and liens, up to the registration of the condominium and the rights of the owners at the Land Registry. She is a member of the Bar Association’s Urban Renewal Committee, leads professional panels in the field of urban renewal, and was elected as Israel’s Most Influential Woman in Real Estate for 2025.

Adv. Lior Papish

Adv. Papish has over 15 years of experience in the real estate industry, and he specializes in accompanying urban renewal, pinui-binui, and NOP 38 projects, with an emphasis on representing homeowners. Adv. Papish holds vast experience in urban renewal, and he personally accompanies dozens of complex projects, while uncompromisingly upholding the homeowners’ rights at every step of the way – from preliminary stages, through choosing a developer and negotiations, and to the registration and completion of the project. Adv. Papish operates in a comprehensive approach that combines profound legal knowledge, planning and financial understanding, and extensive practical experience in handling the authorities, regulation, and the banking system. All of which with the objective of moving the projects forward in a safe, transparent, and beneficial manner for the owners.
On top of his urban renewal expertise, Adv. Papish provides ongoing legal counsel for private and commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, combination, development, and rights registry transactions. Adv. Papish is known for his ability to create trust and open communication with his clients, as well as for his constant strive for legal excellence and achieving optimal results for his clients. He is a member of the Bar Association’s Urban Renewal Committee, a frequent participant in conferences, forums, and professional committees which handle urban renewal policies and lead them forward.

Pro Bono Activities

As part of the firm’s social vision, its partners hold voluntary lectures for residents in collaboration with local authorities and urban renewal departments. Additionally, the firm is proud to provide pro bono representation for elderly residents in complex projects, out of a deep commitment to the values of equality and social justice.