Adv. Hagit Weinstock

What recent key move did you lead?
This year, we achieved a precedential arbitration ruling that enable Israeli farmers to grow cannabis on agricultural areas. This is an extraordinary arbitration ruling which, for the first time, overturned a decision of the agricultural cooperative of Moshav Mishmeret and created a legal precedent.

The discussion whether to allow cannabis farming in the fields of Moshav Mishmeret started in 2017 and was rejected several times by the local committee and the agricultural cooperative. The local authorities are wary of cannabis farming and see it as a bad odors hazards while almost every Moshav and Kibbutz has a cowshed that spreads unpleasant odors.

Weinstock Zehavi & Co., which has been specializing in medical cannabis since 2015, appealed the decision of the general meeting of Moshav Mishmeret to prevent the Moshav's farmers from growing cannabis on their areas, and required that the decision would be cancelled, in a move which is almost never made since the general meeting is the final authority in Moshavim for such matters.

The court referred the parties to an arbitrator which ruled in favor of the farmers and even required the cooperative to allocate water for this produce. This story is precedential in changing the perception of cannabis farming and seeing it as an agriculture industry in every aspect.

What are the firm’s strongest attributes?
Weinstock Zehavi is the leading firm in Israel in the field of medical cannabis legislation and the first to have practiced in the field of cannabis regulation, since 2015. The firm represents growers, investors and companies from Israel and abroad and is considered to be a trailblazer in this area, which jumpstarted Israel's cannabis regulation and enabled the country to achieve its relative advantage in this area compared to other countries. The firm handles all aspects of applications for medical cannabis licenses, international cooperations concerning medical cannabis growing and exporting and cooperations in research and development.

Another practice area in which Weinstock Zehavi is considered to be a leader in Israel is the area of temporary residence permits for foreign workers and every aspect of employing foreign workers, including employment terms and termination vis-à-vis the employer and the authorities, in the agricultural, commerce, construction and nursing industries. The firm has recorded numerous success and groundbreaking legal precedents in this field also in the past year, and has managed to keep in Israel several foreign workers who faced deportation.

What should one remember during hardships?
If there's something that the past year clarified for all of us, not just for me I believe, is that our family and our loved ones are the true place where we belong. This is where we are, even when er are not there physically. This is the real joy in life, and the eventual source of true happiness. Everything else is just a bonus. I collect these moments.