Yigal Arnon & Co. is the premier provider of legal services to the high-tech ecosystem of the "Start-Up Nation." We represent hundreds of active startups at all stages of development, from idea to IPO. As one of the most respected and dynamic law firms in Israel, we are known for our innovative approaches to solving clients’ problems and our outstanding client service.
With our focused practice groups, Yigal Arnon & Co. combines the expertise of a specialty boutique practice with the advantages of a large, well-resourced, multidisciplinary law firm. We draw on these resources (corporate, securities, tax, labor, real estate and intellectual property, among numerous others) in offering services to a wide range of players in the high-tech industry, from young entrepreneurs still working out of their garages to Fortune 100 companies.
For example, we represent all players in the tech scene:
Our services extend to:
We provide industry expertise in the areas (among others) of:
Yigal Arnon & Co. advises high-tech companies in their ongoing commercial transactions, including in complex licensing transactions (as well as the purchase and sale of technologies and intellectual property), technology transfer arrangements, research and development activities, internet and mobile activities (including gaming, e-commerce and payment solutions), development and supply arrangements, and a wide range of commercial transactions—from distribution, OEM, VAR, MTA and CRO agreements to strategic alliances.
Mergers and acquisitions, also known as exits, are the bread-and-butter of the high-tech industry. We handle high-tech M&As of all kinds and sizes, including some of the largest and most talked-about transactions in the country. We provide wall-to-wall legal services, including corporate representation and consultation in matters of regulation, labor law, taxation, intellectual property, antitrust and litigation. In these transactions, the firm has for years represented both the buy-side (multinationals and PE funds) and sellers (companies in all stages). Likewise, we have extensive experience with complex transactions such as mergers and reverse mergers, share swaps, court-approved mergers and mergers that require special regulatory approvals, partial sales, intellectual property transactions and asset sales.
Yigal Arnon & Co. is highly reputed for the services we provide to venture capital and private equity funds, investment companies and strategic investors in their portfolio investments. Our practical business approach and skill in looking beyond the legal issues distinguishes us from other firms and positions us as a dominant firm in this practice area.
Our attorneys have a deep understanding of both the process and the documentation of venture capital and private equity financings, enhancing our ability to assist clients in accomplishing their business objectives in a timely and efficient manner. Adding to our effectiveness is our experience in fund formation, secondary transactions, venture lending and mergers and acquisitions. This provides us with additional insight into the standards by which venture capitalists and private equity professionals assess investment opportunities, the types and terms of securities involved as well as the dynamics of diverse investor groups. Furthermore, our representation of companies receiving investments and venture loans gives us the wisdom of the other side's perspective in these transactions, enabling us to close deals efficiently and amicably.
Yigal Arnon & Co. represents prominent Israeli and overseas venture capital and private equity funds, as well as strategic corporate investors, in their portfolio investments in Israeli and Israel-related companies. The size and breadth of our portfolio investment practice, together with our large startup practice, provides us with a broad view of market trends, and this allows us to advise on evolving market trends as they develop. Our experience and approach ensures that clients, whether Israeli or non-Israeli, enjoy the highest international standard of professionalism and responsiveness.
Yigal Arnon & Co. acts as counsel in venture capital and private equity fund formation and corporate maintenance, representing general partners, fund anchors and sponsors, funds of funds and limited partners. We provide practical and timely corporate, tax and general legal advice that enables clients to raise private equity and venture capital funds as quickly as the market will allow. Our international networks enable us to work effectively with U.S., European or offshore legal counsel to advise on Israeli tax and regulatory issues when the need arises, both during and after the fund formation process.
We have been at the cutting edge of developments in the burgeoning Israeli venture capital scene from the start of the initial wave of Israeli venture capital funds formed with government assistance in the early 1990s to the development and formation of innovative accredited crowd funding platforms and university TTO-related funds in the past few years. We like to think of ourselves as the “fund lawyers’ lawyers”, able to help investment professionals create innovative fund structures. In addition to venture capital and private equity funds, Yigal Arnon & Co. represents funds formed to invest in real estate (primarily in the United States) and hedge funds, both fund side and investor side, in conjunction with local counsel.
Yigal Arnon & Co. has acted as counsel in many venture lending and debt financing transactions. We regularly represent venture lenders and financial institutions both in Israel and across the globe and have a reputation for solving complex cross-border issues. Our practice includes diverse types of secured, unsecured, mezzanine and other loan transactions, including secured and unsecured credit facilities, asset-based lending and workout loans. As company counsel to high-tech companies in various stages of development, we also frequently represent the borrowers and debtors, which gives us added insight into these types of transactions. In addition, we often advise on issues relating to insolvency, regulatory compliance, tax and securities laws as they relate to Israel-related credit facilities. With extensive connections within the industry, we are a valuable source of knowledge for non-Israeli investors and financial institutions which require a clear and concise understanding of the complexities that surround Israeli law in these types of cross-border transactions, which can be quite different from the "home" jurisdictions of these lenders.
Yigal Arnon & co. has extensive experience in secondary transactions in venture capital and private equity funds, including the purchase of holdings across multiple funds and transactions for the purchase or sale of entire portfolios of investment. We represent secondary funds in their purchase of portfolio investments at the company level as well as purchase of partnership interests in venture capital and private equity funds, advising on transactions small and large—whether the purchase of a stake in a single company or across multiple companies. Yigal Arnon & Co. also represents venture capital and private equity funds selling their portfolios in connection with their liquidation.
Yigal Arnon & Co.’s Technology and Transactional IP Group serves international and Israeli clients from a variety of IP transactional fields. Members of our Transactional IP Group provide advice concerning complex licensing and commercial transactions involving cutting-edge technology.
The expertise of the group spans a broad cross-section of subjects and industries, including communications, internet/data services, IoT, infrastructure, mobile, semiconductors, homeland security, privacy, data security, electronic commerce, information technology, fintech, distributed ledger technology, data storage, software and open source issues, medical devices and life sciences, and cleantech and renewable energy. The team has extensive experience in structuring, negotiating and documenting complex strategic collaborations, joint venture and co-development transactions, IP (patent) licensing transactions, technology transfer arrangements, development and supply agreements, manufacturing, distribution and OEM agreements, and other commercial and corporate finance transactions.
Our Technology and Transactional IP Group also supports the firm's Corporate Department on IP due diligence in M&A and investment transactions, having advised on a number of M&A transactions that involve complicated legal issues and sophisticated and complex technology, for example.
Because Yigal Arnon & Co. represents many early-stage clients, our Technology and Transactional IP Group is very familiar with the latest trends and leading-edge technology, as well as customary commercial practices and commercialization models. We are experts in drafting and negotiating commercial terms and contracts that protect our clients' intellectual property and other interests. This assists many of our early-stage clients who seek to bring their products to market. In addition, members of our team have extensive experience with issues related to Israeli R&D Law and working with the IIA (Israeli Innovation Authority, previously the Office of the Chief Scientist). Since Israeli technology companies often receive IIA funding for development work at some point, this expertise is valued by our clients, whether seeking IIA funding or acquiring or investing in companies that have already obtained such funding.
We undertake a comprehensive and collaborative team approach to provide the legal services that are critical to complex cross-border transactions. This often includes bringing in the expertise of our Tax and Antitrust Practice Groups. In addition, our contacts with leading foreign law firms enable us to obtain input on global regulatory, distribution, competition and data protection legal issues where necessary.
Yigal Arnon & Co. counsels a range of companies—from those under formation to mature multinationals—helping to draft, adopt and implement compensation and incentive plans according to their different and evolving needs. The firm is highly experienced with drafting and implementing employee incentive plans, including options plans and equity-based bonuses. Our expertise in corporate and securities law, as well as in tax and labor law, help us define the optimal incentive mix for employees of local and multinational companies. In the latter case, we sometimes use our strong connections with leading law firms in other jurisdictions and work with them to provide multinational clients with the optimal package. We also advise on matters such as hiring, severance, termination and other labor issues, including in the context of public offerings, M&As, joint ventures, internal restructuring and spinoffs.
We recognize the necessity for a balance between a successful employee incentive plan that allows employees to grow at the workplace and the flexibility required to manage a profitable and successful business. As a result, our team offers clients advice that is tailored to their needs, taking into account different elements such as the client’s size, business sector, goals and policies.
Yigal Arnon & Co. has significant experience with issues related to Israeli R&D law and working with the IAA (Israel Innovation Authority, formerly the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist), including in connection with the special programs for multi-national companies, the Center for International Cooperation in R&D (Matimop) and IIA-supported technological and biotech incubators. Since many Israeli technology companies receive IIA funding and other governmental grants for research and development work, this expertise is highly valued by our clients.
Yigal Arnon counsels clients in connection with a wide range of data privacy and database matters, including privacy audits and strategy, web site privacy notices, cross-border transfers, data collection and sharing, direct marketing, outsourced data-related services, commercial transactions having privacy and data protection implications, and database management. We also advise clients in connection with data protection strategies for data-heavy and conventional businesses, including mobile applications, web-based services and other businesses—for example, in the highly regulated healthcare and financial services industries.
As businesses become global yet privacy regulation remains local, a key aspect Yigal Arnon’s practice involves helping clients understand and comply with varied, and sometimes conflicting, local and regional privacy and data protection requirements. We are particularly adept at working with clients to create Israeli regulatory compliance programs that are consistent with their global privacy strategies.
Members of our privacy team have been certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and have the required expertise to perform analyses in that field in close coordination with EU lawyers and data protection professionals.
Our longstanding relationships with foreign law firms enable us to ensure that clients receive comprehensive guidance responsive to their privacy and data protection needs. This includes considering compliance requirements in Europe as well as in the United States and other countries. We offer a range of services related to Israeli, European (GDPR) and U.S. requirements, including efficient turnkey solutions together with other service providers.
Other components of our practice include:
Yigal Arnon & Co.’s practice in the area of cybersecurity practice has grown side by side with this dynamic new industry. We represent a broad range of cybersecurity companies, from startups to multinationals. All cybersecurity companies present unique legal and regulatory issues, including specific Israeli regulatory frameworks concerning encryption and export control. Our team combines extensive legal experience with an unusually deep understanding of technical matters.
The firm's work spans the range of cybersecurity issues, including incident response planning, risk management, assisting clients in assessing their privacy and security practices, drafting commercial agreements to address contractual and regulatory requirements, providing regulatory advice in connection with specific activities, and assisting in litigation matters.
Yigal Arnon & Co. is at the forefront of the global fintech revolution, as technology developed in Israel is acquired, used and developed by banks, financial institutions and high-tech and technology companies both in Israel and globally at an ever-increasing rate. Companies (including banks and financial institutions) all over the world are updating their systems and adapting them to the 21st century in order to provide digital banking, clearing, e-commerce and financial services.
The Banking, Finance and High-Tech Groups at our firm are among the leaders in this field in Israel, providing top-tier representation in an industry that demands diverse expertise. Our intensively collaborative approach enables our lawyers to provide practical yet comprehensive solutions in complex matters.
Yigal Arnon & Co. represents Israeli and international banks and financial institutions and is well aware of their needs and how to address them, in light of the relevant legal frameworks within the banking, finance and fintech industries. We also represent a large number of fintech startups looking to expand to global markets, as well as traditional financial institutions interested in acquiring early-stage Israeli tech companies. In addition, we are highly experienced working with fintech companies that offer payment and clearing systems, financial information systems, peer-to-peer technology, crowd lending solutions, insurance technology, digital currency and blockchain.
Yigal Arnon & Co. was among the first law firms in Israel to recognize the growing potential of blockchain technology and its ability to disrupt traditional and new industries. By combining various fields of legal expertise and a deep understanding of the technology and its application, we provide legal counsel to a wide range of clients, from early-stage ventures to more established corporations and investors.
With the rise of the use of cryptocurrencies, our team has provided legal counsel in a variety of areas, including initial coin offerings (ICO), securities law, AML/KYC, formation of changes and exchanges, crypto-hedge-fund formation, tax and local regulation. We frequently contribute to this new space, interacting with regulators, presenting at conferences, publishing articles and providing interviews to local and international media outlets.
The use of open source licenses has become almost universal in many software products. Since open source licenses usually contain special terms and restrictions, those provisions are key parameters in considering if and how a software developer should use such code. In fact, using open source code without proper analysis could have major financial implications.
Yigal Arnon & Co. assists a range of software clients in protecting their intellectual property, avoiding violation of third-party rights and eliminating the possibility that third parties could lawfully use their code. Our team has extensive experience in drafting software license agreements and specializes in complex software ventures.
Transition from desktop computers to the cloud has created challenges and opportunities, both for cloud-service providers and end-users. We enable our clients to manage the special characteristics of cloud services, including the decentralization of data and unique data privacy and protection issues. Our extensive experience in data privacy and protection law helps our clients to protect their cloud data and that of their users.
Yigal Arnon & Co. represents a diverse array of Israeli semiconductor companies and has been intimately involved with the history and growth of the industry in Israel. We represent both foundries and fabless companies, as well as companies that focus on materials, process control and yield management. In addition, we represent venture-backed semiconductor companies throughout their growth lifecycle and assist with the legal challenges facing these companies. Our attorneys have deep expertise in handling the corporate needs of fabless semiconductor companies, from startup through maturity.
Our team also has the expertise to provide semiconductor companies with industry-focused advice regarding intellectual property, licensing, antitrust and cybersecurity. In addition, we advise semiconductor companies on the Israeli regulatory environment, including export control, environmental law and the requirements of the Israeli Innovation Authority.
Thanks to the progress in sensor development and to the reduction in their size and cost, we now have billions of small devices all around us, transmitting and receiving information to and from computers that process this information into products. In this IoT era, we are constantly online, and information about us is received and analyzed. This, of course, is subject to regulation. Our lawyers have the necessary experience and training to provide the legal counseling needed by data protection, privacy protection ad cybersecurity ventures. Having informed counsel enables these companies to focus on their technology, knowing that they are in compliance with all regulatory requirements and that all of their commercial and corporate needs are well taken care of.
Although 3D printing was invented years ago, the most significant technological breakthrough in this field took place over the last few years. Once exclusively in the realm of large corporations, manufacturing has now become commonplace. We work with 3D printing innovators on matters such as copyrights and design rights, third-party liability, regulation and compliance, financing and commercial agreements.
Yigal Arnon & Co.’s practice in food and agricultural technology is growing alongside the burgeoning Israeli food-tech and ag-tech ecosystem. In the last few years, global and local Israeli investment in the sector has expanded as fluctuations in global food supply, environmental factors and population growth have created stress across the food value chain. Israeli companies have been global leaders in technologies designed to increase efficiency and reliability in food production, especially in the important fields of precision agriculture, irrigation technology and plant genetics.
We have developed a core strength in these areas, providing expert legal counsel and services on issues of regulation, investments and capital raising (foreign and Israeli VC, angel investors and IIA, for example), joint ventures, intellectual property protection, commercialization and M&As.
Internet, digital and mobile are at the core of the firm’s High-Tech Practice. We represent hundreds of clients that develop internet and mobile applications, platforms and services. We offer wall-to-wall services, including all aspects that ventures of this kind may need: corporate formation and maintenance, data and privacy protection, corporate governance, licensing agreements, commercial agreements, terms of use, and consultation on regulatory and issues.
Digital marketing is undergoing a technology evolution. When social networks were born, they gave rise to a new era of online advertising. Today, internet advertising is more complex than ever. We represent and provide legal services to clients across the range of advertising activities, from advertising and creative agencies and RTB (real-time bidding) to retargeting and ad exchanges. We provide each client with counsel that is tailored to its advantages and challenges in the marketplace, and to the technology it uses.
Yigal Arnon & Co.’s practice in the areas of automotive and smart mobility has been developing side by side with the dynamic Israeli innovation ecosystem. In the past few years, the Israeli industry has seen dramatic growth in technological solutions related to smart mobility, including autonomous vehicles, shared transportation, mass transit, development of infrastructure solutions, cyber protection related to vehicles, sensors, battery technologies and web-based transportation platforms. Yigal Arnon & Co. has developed a highly effective practice in these areas, offering legal counsel and services on issues such as regulation, standards, investments, joint ventures, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions and working with the Israeli Innovation Authority.
Traditionally, drones were considered the domain of the Israeli defense industry and, as such, were dominated by the major Israeli defense companies. In the last few years, however, the Israeli market has witnessed a surge in technological innovation related to civilian uses of drones, from the hardware underpinning them and new algorithms for controlling their flight to modifications allowing for new drone applications in agriculture, housing, forest preservation, mineral exploration, surveillance and law enforcement. Hundreds of Israeli startups, as well as established companies, are competing in this growing sector.
Yigal Arnon and Co. has honed its ability to assist and support drone technology companies with the legal expertise needed to grow their businesses. Such expertise encompasses a broad range of matters, from sharing in-depth knowledge on export control regulations, civil aviation authority requirements, frequencies and liability to providing traditional legal services required by growing companies.
The fast pace of technology mandates specific expertise in the legal and regulatory aspects of emerging technologies. Our lawyers closely monitor these technologies, study recent global developments and participate in leading conferences. We have acquired specialized knowledge in various sectors, including:
Artificial intelligence is an exciting and rapidly evolving field that is likely to influence many aspects of our lives. Just some examples of the areas in which AI is used include autonomous cars, medical AI systems, behavior prediction algorithms, and crime and terrorism detection. Our lawyers keep abreast of this field and have sophisticated knowledge of machine learning, deep learning and cognitive computing technologies. In an era in which the law is lagging behind the technology, we provide legal advice to contend with the gap between current regulation and the possibilities represented by AI products. We advise on existing regulation, for example, as well as perform risk analysis, review current practices and formulate legal solutions to business issues.
VA and AR are two more areas that are entering into almost every walk of our lives, from gaming to medicine and cars. These technologies give rise to new legal dilemmas pertaining to product safety, torts, third-party property rights, data collection and privacy. We counsel our clients from the development stages through maturity, to make sure they comply with the legal obligations stemming from these kinds of uses. We also provide more typical corporate legal services, such as advise on investment rounds and handle commercial contracts with clients and their business partners.
A smart city is based on sensors that can provide information about what is happening in that city, and on a command and control center that can process the information and enable decision-making that correlates with the information. Smart cities give rise to legal questions having to do with public safety, privacy, real estate, tenders and administrative law. These are all areas in which Yigal Arnon & Co. offers many years of experience and highly experienced teams of lawyers. As a result, clients rely on us for across-the-board services.
Legal technologies include systems and products aimed at improving and streamlining legal services and processes and making them more readily available to lawyers, clients and the public at large. Some of these enterprises are intended to improve and streamline the management of law firms and legal departments. Such technologies include ERP systems, some cloud-based, and are supported by sophisticated AI. Their purpose is to harmonize and synchronize all administrative aspects of law firm management—information management, sharing and communication—internally and with clients, accountants and other parties. Other systems improve and streamline legal work that in the past had to be performed by certified professionals or took a very long time, including discovery, data analysis, automated disclosure, generation of contracts and documents, case management, legal research, online legal services and contract management.
Yigal Arnon & Co. has a deep understanding of both the relevant technologies and the requirements of the legal world itself that legal technology companies need in this important area.
Yigal Arnon & Co. assists companies that develop homeland security products, including those related to anti-terrorism. We provide legal services in connection with product development, intellectual property protection, encryption, Defense Ministry approvals, defense export controls, dual use technologies, business-to-government (B2G) transactions and government-to-government (G2G) ancillary transactions.
Yigal Arnon & Co.’s practice area in the field of medical cannabis is expanding as both Israeli and international regulation continues to evolve toward increasing openness to medicinal (and in some cases recreational) cannabis, and as local and global investment in the sector increases. Israel has long been recognized as a world leader in medical cannabis research and development, as well as in cannabis-related technological innovation. Israel’s lawmakers and regulators have been working to create an increasingly supportive environment to facilitate the growth and international scaling of Israeli medical cannabis companies. Our Medical Cannabis Group closely follows the changing regulatory and business environment here in Israel and internationally, enabling us to give up to date expert advice to the key companies and investors involved in the sector as well as to those looking to enter this expanding industry.
