Career
Pinhas Rubin is the Chairman and the Head of the firm at Gornitzky & Co.
He is considered by the Israeli financial press to be a “key position” holder and was listed therein as one of the people who will “open any door for you”. Since 2002, The Marker Magazine has repeatedly identified him as one of the 100 most influential people in the Israeli economy, and leading international legal guides named him “a super lawyer” and “the best lawyer in Israel”. In 2019 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chambers Global guide.
Mr. Rubin sets himself apart from other legal practitioners, who specialize in one specific field, with his unique interdisciplinary approach: He is regarded as a reputable expert in the numerous fields in which he regularly practices, especially in the areas of corporate law, tax, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, trusts and estates, litigation and dispute resolution, white collar crime, class actions and derivative suits. In addition, Mr. Rubin lectures on a variety of legal topics at Israel’s finest academic institutions.
Acting across a broad range of legal practices, Mr. Rubin is extensively involved in Israel’s most significant transactions and legal disputes.
Mr. Rubin has the utmost respect for his clients’ privacy and therefore clients remain anonymous in notable representations that include:
• Assisting Israel’s largest commercial groups and banks in their tax issues and tax disputes;
• Involvement in tax matters on behalf of leading international telecommunications companies, financial service providers, and banking institutions in Israel;
• Representation and counsel to foreign trusts and their beneficiaries regarding trust laws and related tax matters;
• Representation of affluent Israeli families in their legal matters, as well as legal and tax advice to high net worth individuals who qualify for a tax holiday upon their immigration to Israel;
• Mergers, acquisitions and re-organizations of leading Israeli companies, including Israel’s largest energy companies;
• Structuring a three-way merger of three publicly-traded Israeli insurance companies;
• Structuring a merger between Israel’s two largest food manufacturers;
• Acting on behalf of Israel’s largest banks in mergers and acquisitions;
• Representation of Israel’s largest bank, in its share offering by prospectus (“GDR”) to accredited foreign investors;
• Representation of Israel’s largest companies in IPOs on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange;
• Representation of high profile corporate leaders in defense of white collar crimes;
• Litigation in class actions and derivative suits on behalf of leading industrial and commercial companies in the Israeli economy, such as banks, insurance companies and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange;
• Acting on behalf of US and Israeli investors in the acquisition of a controlling interest in Israel’s largest bank;
• Ongoing representation of Israel’s largest banks in their various corporate and tax issues;
• Advising and litigating on behalf of Israel’s leading insurance companies on various corporate, tax and commercial matters;
• Advising Israel’s largest business groups with regard to the recommendations of the Committee on Increasing Competitiveness in the Economy (the “Concentration Committee”);
• Representation of the CEO of a leading international public company, traded both in the US and Israel, in an appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court regarding an alleged criminal tax violation, in which the decision of the district court was overturned;
• Representation of Israel’s Ministry of Finance and three former finance ministers in the governmental investigation committee regarding the collapse of bank securities on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange;
• Representation of a significant private shareholder in the sale of his interest in one of Israel’s largest insurance companies;
• Serving as the liquidator of a large international insurance company, including devising a liquidation plan and negotiating an arrangement with international creditors;
• Representation of Israel’s leading gas companies before the Committee to Examine the Fiscal Policy on Oil and Gas Resources in Israel (the “Sheshinski Committee”);
• Representation of one of Israel’s leading commercial families in their personal and commercial affairs, including their purchase of significant interests in banking and insurance companies.
• Representation of the Israeli Ambassador to a significant foreign country, formerly the president of one of Israel’s leading universities, in certain settlements with the authorities and his defense before the High Court of Justice in his appeal on the preclusion of his appointment as Israel’s ambassador.
• Representation of a controlling shareholder in a public company suspected of committing several inside trading offenses, in which he was acquitted of all charges.
In 2023, Mr. Rubin was ranked as a “Senior Statesperson” by the Chambers Global ranking guide. This prestigious achievement places him among the exclusive top 3.9% of all lawyers ranked by Chambers in this category in the world.
