Rebecca Shwartz, Law Office and Mediation

Rebecca Shwartz, Law Office and Mediation is a boutique firm that specializes in family law and personal status. The firm, established in 2012 by Adv. Rebecca Shwartz, provides its clients with top-tier legal services in its areas of expertise, with unique expertise in handling complex cases in the orthodox community. The firm’s unique strength stems from the combination between its legal expertise and the profound understanding of the culture, Jewish laws, and religious complexities that are expressed by the combination of legal knowledge and vast familiarity with the orthodox sector and the unique practice required in the rabbinical court. Adv. Shwartz is personally familiar with the orthodox community and understands its complexities, from both its Jewish laws and legal aspects. Additionally, she has vast experience in managing cases in rabbinical courts as well as procedures in family courts.
Rebecca Shwartz, Law Office and Mediation provides its clients with the best legal representation, with the needed sensitive approach for its clients personal and cultural needs. The firm’s perspective relies on the principle of “turning every ‘no’ into a ‘yes’” in a way that reflects Adv. Shwartz’s approach for the trade. The firm considers its work to be a mission of removing barriers and promoting the rights of weaker societies, emphasizing orthodox men and women. The firm believes in creating innovative legal solutions that combine the firm’s Jewish laws and legal understandings with a sensitive touch.
The firm also handles cases with international aspects, including interstate child abduction cases and international jurisdictional disputes. In 2018, Adv. Shwartz took part in a mission to California on behalf of The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and “Gesher” to deepen the connection between Israel and North America’s Jewish community.
With the firm’s clients are orthodox and religious sector men and women, including some that are undergoing complex divorce procedures, victims of domestic abuse, parents handling custody disputes and parental alienation, families handling the complex challenges that arise from mental illnesses, women that face divorce refusals, clients with complex property and asset matters, and clients facing cases with international aspects.

Adv. Rebecca Shwartz – Founder and Owner

Adv. Shwartz is known as an authority in her field, with unique expertise in the orthodox sector. She is frequently asked to lecture in community and legal forums in her areas of expertise. Adv. Shwartz also heads “Min HaMezar” organization, which she founded, for sexual crime victims in the orthodox community. She is a member of the Bar Association’s professional committees, in which she acts as the Deputy Chairman of the Jerusalem District Committee, a member of the Ethics Board, Executive Chairwoman of the Rabbinical Courts Committee, and Co-Chairwoman of the Committee for the Advancement of the Women’s Status. Adv. Shwartz also served on the boards of directors of public organizations, such as ZAKA and Moriah Jerusalem Development Company.
She is an LL.B. graduate with honors from Ono Academic College as well as a master’s degree graduate of Public Policy, from the Federman School of Public Policy and Government at the Hebrew University. Prior to establishing her firm, Adv. Shwartz interned at the State Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Department.

Groundbreaking Rulings and Success

Rebecca Shwartz, Law Office and Mediation is proud to have achieved substantial rulings on behalf of its clients, including a precedent-setting ruling in the District Court regarding the Rabbinical Court’s lack of authority to rule under the Youth Law; a brilliant legal-Jewish law victory in persuading the Court to apply the ancient principle of “her own handiwork” to modern social rights; success in handling with complex divorce refusal cases, including cases involving mentally ill spouses; developing unique strategy for “unchaining” agunot in extremely difficult cases; winning a significant Ketubah claim; important rulings regarding the protection of women’s assets in divorce proceedings in rabbinical courts; and groundbreaking achievements in the field of handling with parental alienation in the orthodox sector.

Areas of Expertise

Rebecca Shwartz, Law Office and Mediation specializes in all aspects of family laws and personal status. The firm uniquely specializes in representing clients in the rabbinical courts, while being knowledgeable and familiar with Jewish laws and the unique procedures of this systems. The firm represents its clients in complex divorce proceedings in both rabbinical and family courts, handles custody disputes and arrangements, as well as domestic violence cases, and parental alienation.
The firm also specializes in complex cases involving mental illness and their effect on the divorce procedure, and handles cases of divorce refusals, and finding proper and creative legal solutions. It handles Ketubah claims and getting women proper financial compensation, division of assets, and social rights. The firm also represents clients in cases involving international aspects and mediation during family disputes.
Rebecca Shwartz, Law Office and Mediation is a leader in the field of wills and inheritance with an innovative and comprehensive legal approach. The firm supports its clients in drafting personally tailored wills that combine advanced trustees mechanisms and acts for its deposits in a manner that prevents objections and assures a clear asset transfer. The firm also represents its clients in will objections, both in defending its validity and legitimate objections. At the same time, the firm effectively manages the entire process of inheritance orders and procedures as well as the upholding of the will with the proper authorities. For complex estates, the firm formulates management and distribution strategies that benefit the heirs and minimize tax liabilities. Additionally, Adv. Shwartz, as a certified mediator, offers unique mediation solutions for inheritance disputes that enables settling cases out of the court, while preserving the relationships within the family.

Outreach Activities

Adv. Shwartz acts to promote social and community objectives. Among others, for the promotion of the awareness of “protections” inside the orthodox community as well as providing legal assistance to victims of sexual abuse in the community, as part of the “Min HaMezar” organization, founded by Adv. Shwartz, which acts to support sexual crimes victims.