Deborah Marcus has had a longstanding desire to relocate to Israel, yet she grappled with uncertainty regarding how her current role and skills as a New York lawyer would align with opportunities in the Jewish state.
“Would it mean starting over?” Marcus wondered.
This week, thanks to a pilot trip organized by DLA Piper, Marcus said she now feels like moving to Israel is possible.
“People who are interested in moving their legal profession, who are interested in the opportunities in Israel should feel this is still a good time,” Marcus told The Jerusalem Post.
Marcus was among 10 foreign lawyers who participated in a three-day mission that started Sunday and ended Tuesday. The itinerary encompassed meetings with key figures from prominent law firms and the legal departments of Israel’s leading unicorns. Jeremy Lustman of DLA Piper orchestrated the initiative.
Lustman said that before October 7, he would regularly get calls from American lawyers asking about what it was like to transfer his legal career to Israel. After the Hamas massacre and amid the significant rise in antisemitism, he started to get many more. He also felt that it was his job as a legal industry leader to do something to help the people who want to move to Israel.
“My thought was that the industry needs to take a step toward communities abroad and reach out to them in ways we have never done before, to extend the industry to people abroad and show them there is an opportunity to shift their career to Israel,” Lustman said.
In January, Lustman spearheaded events in New York and London with top legal professionals from other Israeli firms that drew approximately 140 lawyers keen on exploring career opportunities in Israel.
He said that “the feedback was incredible.” So, two and a half weeks later, they decided to run a professional tour. Ten people signed up.
The trip included meetings at Goldfarb Gross Seligman; Monday.com; Herzog, Fox, and Neeman; Arnon Tadmor-Levy; Lightricks; and more.
“We opened doors to major law firms and unicorn companies,” Lustman said. The meetings focused on practical advice and networking for those considering moving to Israel.
Adena, also from New York, said the trip “solidified for me that the Israeli legal market is not only open to having olim join in but is eager to.”
Chaim Friedland, a senior partner at the Gornitzky law firm in Tel Aviv, was one of the hosts. He explained that law firms are “always looking for good lawyers,” and often, those trained in developed economies such as the US and the United Kingdom are of the highest quality and best qualified.
“They are a good catch,” Friedland said. “It makes business sense and Zionist sense.”
Other industries should follow suit and introduce potential employees to the field
Lustman said he would like the success of this trip to send a message to other industries that they should be doing the same thing.
“Instead of waiting for olim to come on their pilot trips, there should be a bold statement that we want you, and please come,” Lustman said. “In my mind, this will be the first of many successive visits, and I hope many industries will follow.”