New Feature: Profiling the Israel Desks firms: Asserson Law Offices
You have had an Israel Desk and team for some time; what was the driving force behind that, and how does it fit with the firm’s overall strategy and focus?
The firm itself was born out of something wholly different from any of the other ‘Israel Desks’ you may see on Nishlis. We launched in 2005, initially as a UK Litigation outfit based in Israel, when Trevor Asserson, his wife and two daughters fulfilled a life-long dream of making Aliyah and living in Israel.
As one of the UK’s leading litigators, Trevor was determined to continue to pursue a fruitful career in his field while being able to ‘live the dream’ in Israel – and so Asserson Law Offices was born.
As we always say, it started as a bold experiment in providing UK legal services from an offshore location at a time when such a possibility had not even been dreamt of.
We are now over 50 lawyers across Business Law, Banking, Employment and Real Estate – with our largest office physically located in the Azrieli Complex in Tel Aviv.
We are not just a desk; we are a full-service firm of the top UK legal talent, mostly British-Israelis, sitting in Israel and carrying out the work here.
What are the challenges that you face as you look to expand and grow the Israel Desk? How do you manage them?
Although every business looks to grow, it seems that our growth has been organic- we didn’t even have a Business Development team until this year. Our USP, so to speak, attracts both clients and talent alike.
We help our clients as we can break down the cultural barriers between Israelis and the UK. We understand both the Israeli and British business landscape, attracting and retaining top-tier Israeli clients.
Exceptionally, bright and idealistic talent from the UK (and elsewhere) find a home at the firm, and because of the nature of the work, they believe it’s an advantage, not a compromise, to come and work for us and live in Israel. With this comes challenges, some of which are as follows:
- As our team grows, we physically cannot fit in our current office space and need to find a new office that will be able to accommodate the team
- The more employees, the bigger the teams, the larger the firm, and the larger the need for HR and people management – and we need to provide that facility at the firm as a necessity.
- The larger the firm gets, the less personal the firm can feel. We are implementing many away-days, family-orientated facilities, and added perks in the office to keep and maintain a sense of belonging and togetherness – it is incredible what a fully-stocked fridge, for example, can do!
What kind of strategies, mindset or understanding is required for the head of the Israeli desk?
That saying ‘Fail to plan, plan to fail’ – is a little simplistic, but that is what we do; it is an annual plan with key targets and metrics (in all areas of the firm), and we measure it month by month.
In terms of mindset – I believe an open, honest and authentic mindset is essential – anything can crop up that one might not have expected. Even those with the greatest of experience can project false predictions. In that vein, the ability to pivot is critical.
In 2022, if lawyers (and all of those who work with them!) do not demonstrate agility, there is no future for us.
What industries or areas do you look to emphasize and develop in the coming year(s) regarding your Israel Desk?
Care Homes, Cannabis & Hi-Tech – an odd combination, you may say, but they are specialties of ours, and we believe they are the future and Israel is at the forefront of them.
We have our own internal Asserson Cannabis Group. In addition, we are proud to be working with several Israeli Cannabis companies, such as the Kanabo Group – the first Israeli Cannabis company to float on the London Stock Exchange.
Recently, we welcomed Simon Weinberg, our Commercial Partner, who specializes in IT and Communications services; we can therefore offer a much more comprehensive UK Legal Tech offering.
Hadie Cohen, our corporate lead on Care Home Purchasing and Acquisition, has been busy working with Israeli investors who are enjoying the lucrative benefits of the UK Care Home space.
And what about Israelis embedded in the U.S.?
As of Thanksgiving 2021, we formalized our U.S Litigation team, headed up by Yisrael Hiller, together with Allison Khaskelis and Natasha Pereira Shiman – a complete practice of high-caliber litigators, helping Israeli corporates with claims in the U.S. – probably the most extensive U.S. litigation outfit in Israel!
