Q: Is it possible to become a lawyer in Israel
without re-training?
Assuming you went to law school in an Anglo-Saxon country and studied Common Law, your
country's legal system is similar to Israel's and therefore the answer is a resounding
yes. Going to law school teaches you how to "think like a lawyer" and
doesn't necessarily teach you the law. If you can read a statute you can become a lawyer
in Israel. You should be aware that the law in Israel is much more based on
statute than on judicial decisions because of the lack of a constitution and the supremacy
of the Knesset, so finding out what the law is will generally be easier than in other
countries.
Q: What are the requirements for admission to the
bar?
Assuming you have completed law school outside of Israel there are three sets of
requirements:
- The pre-stage tests
- Stage (apprenticeship or articles as it's known in the Commonwealth countries)
- The post-stage examination
How long your stage will be and whether you have to do the post-stage examination will
depend on how long you practiced law in your country of origin (from the date of
your admission to the bar): less than two years, 2-5 years or more than five years. Also,
you must be a citizen of Israel or have an A-1 visa to be admitted to the bar.
All candidates for admission to the bar must do the pre-stage examinations.
There are eight substantive examinations plus a Hebrew language exam. If you have been
admitted to the bar in your home jurisdiction for at least two years before you come on
aliya, you need only pass the Hebrew exam before you can start stage - the other
exams may be completed during your stage.
If you've been admitted for less than two years, you have to pass the Hebrew exam and
have no more than two of the substantive exams left to pass in order to be eligible to
start stage - you may do your last two substantive exams during stage. The Hebrew exam
is given in January, April, August and October. In addition, you must obtain a
Certificate of Recognition from the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
The substantive exams are given in January and in August. There is an exemption from
the Hebrew exam for those who can demonstrate proficiency in Hebrew, however you are
advised not to take advantage of the exemption since if you are exempt you must answer the
substantive exams in Hebrew, otherwise you may answer in English (the questions are in
Hebrew anyway).
Each of the substantive exams is in a separate area of the law and is open statute. You
may underline clauses in the statute. A review course starts about a week before the exams
and is coordinated by David Saville, a British lawyer in Jerusalem who acts as the
bar's liaison with olim. To find out more about the course and to register for the exams,
contact:
The Israel Bar Association
1 Chopin Street, Jerusalem
Stage was recently changed from eighteen months to twelve months. If you were admitted
to the bar and practiced for more than two years from the date of your admission in your
home country the bar association can shorten your stage to as little as six months. Since
admissions only take place in November and May, they may shorten it to the time of the
admission dates.
The post-stage examination is given in October-November and in April-May. The first
part is a multiple choice, three-hour written exam on nearly all areas of Israeli
law (closed book). The second part consists of (generally) 20-30 minutes of oral
testing by a panel of three lawyers including a judge. Those lawyers who were admitted
to the bar in their country of origin and who practiced for five years from their date of
admission are exempted from this post-stage examination.
Q: What salary can I expect during stage?
Unfortunately, generally not much. Stage salaries in Tel Aviv tend to run about
$1000 a month and in Jerusalem and other areas around $750. Very few places will pay you
more regardless of your experience in chutz laaretz. This is both gross and net - as an
oleh you will generally pay only bituach leumi (social security) on a salary of this
level.
Q: What salary can I expect after stage?
Here there's improvement. Immediately after stage your salary should at least double
and often will go even higher. Once you've been admitted for a few years, lawyers
are able to earn some of the best incomes in the country. So hang in there!
Q: What kinds of job opportunities will be open to
me?
There are a wide variety of jobs available to lawyers in Israel, although most
olim tend to be concentrated in the business/commercial areas. There are jobs that will
draw on your experience in chutz laaretz, particularly in business transactions and if you
are an American in securities. Israel has more companies whose securities are traded in
the United States than any other non-US country except Canada and sometimes England. (They
go back and forth).
Commercial transactions are often international here and English is the language of
international business. Companies whose securities are traded in the US need to report to
the SEC and their American shareholders on a regular basis. However, you should be aware
that most companies will not take you for stage, and that you will probably have to do
stage with a private law firm. Having said that.....
Q: What are the three most important things for an
oleh lawyer to know?
Hebrew, Hebrew and Hebrew. You must be able to at least sit through a business
meeting in Hebrew and understand what is going on or your utility to an Israeli employer
will be very limited. Very few people here are successful without knowing Hebrew.
If you can draft in Hebrew also you will open up many more job opportunities for yourself,
but good spoken Hebrew is virtually a minimum requirement. Think about it - as lawyers
words are our tools. If we can't speak the language our ability to manipulate words is
gone - and then what are we worth professionally?
Q: What documentation should I bring with me?
A law school transcript (appropriately stamped to look official - even if it's stamped
"not valid for transfer purposes" or something like that, that's okay), a copy
of your law degree and certificate of admission to the bar (with the date of your
admission), a good standing certificate (just in case...) and a letter from each of your
employers after your admission to the bar stating that you were employed by them as a
lawyer from date x to date y on official firm letterhead.
Q: If I haven't gone to law school yet, should I
think about going to law school in Israel?
This is a tough question, because while you'll always be more sure of making aliya if
you're here already, if you go to law school here you give up at least part of what would
make you especially attractive to an employer in Israel, i.e. experience in chutz
laaretz. I should add that many Israelis go overseas for a year or two (mainly to the
US, the UK and Belgium) to gain experience in chutz laaretz.
I would say that if your Hebrew is really good, that could be as valuable to you as
experience in chutz laaretz and if that's the case you should consider going to law school
here. If your Hebrew is not the best you should probably go to law school there. If you've
finished law school outside of Israel your opportunities for employment in Israel will be
very limited unless you have work experience in your home country or you have perfect
spoken and written Hebrew.
