Who May Give Legal Advice

Before discussing anything else, we need to start at the beginning.


According to Israeli Law, who may give legal advice and in what circumstances must you be represented by a lawyer?

According to the law establishing and governing the Israel Bar Association only a lawyer may perform the following actions for pay or barter:

1. Represent or act on behalf of another person in front of courts, tribunals, arbitrators or others vested with judicial authority
2. Represent or act on behalf of another person in front of various government agencies including the Collection Enforcement Agency, the Land Registry Office, the Officer in charge of enforcement of the Condominium Act of 1952, the Registrar of Companies, the Registrar of Partnerships, the Registrar of Patents and Designs, the Registrar of Copyrights...
3. Prepare legal documents on behalf of another person including represent another person in negotiations of the terms of such a document
4. Give legal advice or issue legal opinions.

Like any good law there are exceptions. The aforementioned rules do not apply to:

1. The Attorney General and his staff
2. Proceedings before religious or military tribunals
3. A proceeding before a tribunal that had been specifically exempted by law from the aforementioned rules
4. A patent agent's powers under the Ordinances of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks
5. An accountant's authority to fulfill his legally permitted duties
6. Representation of an organization of employees or employers or one of their members in labor arbitration or contract negotiations
7. Offering a legal opinion when asked by an attorney or government official 
8. Representation during arbitration of a foreign person or company by a foreigner who is qualified as an attorney in his country of residence.

Exception #7 seems odd. At face value it would mean that as long as an attorney asked a non-attorney for a legal opinion, the non-attorney may prepare such an opinion. A critical reader at one website has noticed this and the attorney on the website did not provide a satisfactory explanation of this loophole. On this site, however, I saw that someone notes that this provision is meant to cover law clerks or legal assistants who will pass their legal opinions on to the supervising attorney to review. Thus, ultimately it is a qualified attorney who issues the final opinion.


With this introduction in place, we can make the following disclaimer:
This blog is for information purposes only; it is not a source for legal advice. We do not accept any liability to any person who does rely on the content of this website.