Orly Gerbi is the managing partner of the firm’s Labour and Employment Law practice group. Orly, who is regarded as one of the leading attorneys in Israeli employment law, is one of the founding members of the firm’s Labour and Employment Law practice group and has led it to its current status as one of the leading labour and employment practice groups in Israel, recognized as such by several international and local ranking guides.
Orly lectures on employment law issues in Israel and abroad at various academic institutions, seminars and important professional forums, and has served as the Israeli representative at international conference focusing on employment law in the Middle East, and throughout the world.
Orly specializes in representing international and local entities in the public and private sectors and advising them on a wide range of labour and employment law matters, and employee benefits and executive compensation. In her work, she takes into consideration not only employment law issues but also human resources and commercial aspects of employment relations.
Orly has been consistently ranked as one of the leading Israeli lawyers in the labour and employee benefits area in most of the international and domestic legal directories such as by PLC and the “Experts Guide”. Orly is also the only lawyer in Israel to be ranked by “Who’s Who Legal” as a leading lawyer in the Labour and Employment category. Orly is ranked as a Leading Individual by Legal 500 as well as by Chambers Global.
Areas of advice include:
• Ongoing advice with respect to all aspects of employment relations, including: employee recruitment, employment terms and conditions, compensation and retirement packages, HR policies, the prevention of sexual harassment, equal opportunities in the workplace, adaptation of international documents to Israeli law, and termination of employment;
• Drafting and negotiating agreements, including: employment agreements, separation agreements, various compensation packages, confidentiality and non-competition agreements, and consultancy agreements;
• Advising, providing legal opinions and representing clients in proceedings in which public entities undergoing structural and organization changes, with respect to various scenarios that arise in relation to employee rights;
• Advising on international transactions, mergers and acquisitions, organizational changes and privatizations, including, conducting due diligence, assessing legal risks, drafting employment-related provisions for all transaction documents, advising on aspects relating to the change of employers, and preparation of new employment agreements which include special retention packages for employees upon completion of the transaction;
• Advising on all aspects of the legal requirements and customs in Israel in relation to employee relocation from Israel to abroad and vice versa;
• Providing legal opinions to international clients, including leading international law firms, on the Israeli legal aspects of different employment-related procedures conducted on a world-wide basis;
• Advising employers whose labor relations are governed by collective bargaining agreements in relation to all of the implications of engaging in collective employment relationships, including: assistance and guidance in negotiating, drafting and interpreting collective bargaining agreements, collective arrangements and internal policies;
• Representing clients in different litigation proceedings in all courts, including with respect to individual litigation, collective employment disputes, social security matters, as well as arbitration and mediation proceedings;
• Advising on all aspects of the employment of foreign experts, including with respect to the employment and immigration laws relevant to employing such individuals and guidance in the process of obtaining work authorizations from governmental authorities in Israel.
• Advising in the area of pension plans and social security, including regarding the employment-related aspects of government tenders in the field of social security and employment, and representing clients before governmental authorities, such as the Salary Commissioner at the Finance Ministry and the State Comptroller.
Orly is also a board member of the Israeli Association for Employment Law and Social Security, and takes an active role in its activities, including arranging seminars and professional lectures.
Additional Work Experience
• Participated in various legislative proceedings and was involved in legislative committees, including committees headed by the former President of the Israeli High Court of Justice, Judge Aharon Barak and the Attorney General
• Teaching Assistant in various employment law and civil procedure courses at Tel Aviv University and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Lecturer in various academic and professional employment law forums
