My Personal Approach as a Lawyer

Many years ago, when I enrolled in law school, my dream was to become a state prosecutor. Since then, much has changed.

I wanted to be the “Man of Justice”, bringing criminals to pay a price for their crimes resulting in a change in society and teaching those criminals that “crime doesn’t pay”.

Since those old and faraway days, after years as a litigator, I have changed my mind drastically. I could never work for the prosecution because I am a natural defender (even if I don’t work – and never worked – for the public defender’s office).

Rabbi Elimelech Lizensk teaches us: “On the contrary, let our hearts see everyone else’s good traits and not their faults and let all of us talk (relate) to each other in a respectful way before YOU, and exceed our hearts any hatred forbids one of his friends …”.

It’s obviously much easier for us to judge others and see their faults and bad traits than look at the positive and good side of others and this is why we all have to strive to do so, because it’s not so “natural and easy”.

For me, the hardest part of my work is to bring people down to earth and help them choose the realistic expectations approach.

I’ve learned that to turn good people away from their unrealistic expectations is the hardest part in my daily work as a lawyer. I don’t exclude myself from the list, and as a lawyer I am always doing a double check with myself to make sure I am not letting my emotions take over my professional approach.

The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointments. The legal system is by nature an anti-emotional system. Emotions are not welcomed at all. Emotional people are the most vulnerable and this is why they need a “non-emotional guide” in the form of a good lawyer who knows how to separate emotions from facts, chances from hopes, and be realistic enough to know when to retreat in order to save whatever can be saved.

When approaching any lawyer, a client should know how to separate the emotions from the real issue.

The first question the client must ask himself is “What do I want to achieve in this case or what do I want to avoid?” All the rest is to be left to the lawyer who knows how to achieve your goals or avoid mine fields in the legal system.

You set the goals, but the lawyer knows the best way to achieve them.

Israelis can be very rude. Lawyers and judges are in general “rude”, highly focused people with one purpose in mind: they want to end the case as fast as possible, and as satisfactorily as possible.

The judge wants to find the best solution, one where everyone is happy (mostly impossible to achieve) and the case ends fast. The lawyers are in charge of their client’s best interests.

It’s impossible to fulfill all client’s wishes. As a lawyer, I never make promises!  My job is to guide the client through the system and find the best viable solution for your problem using my experience and my expertise.

It’s not easy to trust others, especially if you don’t know the system well or if you can’t master Hebrew, but in order to win, you must trust the lawyer you are asking for help or paying for his representation.

I know how important chemistry is between a lawyer and a client. Mutual trust must exist in order to accomplish your realistic goals.

I am committed to advocating for my clients to reach the best possible solution.