“Outstanding leaders” is how BDI Code‘s 2019 legal ranking described the firm’s Environmental Law Practice Group.
Over the past few decades, Israel has witnessed significant progress in its environmental legislation and regulatory mechanisms, seeking to regularise the environmental aspects of companies, industrial plants and large organisations whose activities impact upon Israel’s natural resources. As a consequence, all regulated bodies are now required to operate under a complex regulatory framework including civil, administrative and criminal legislative and enforcement mechanisms. Moreover, these bodies are obligated to include environmental considerations in their business decision-making processes, as an integral part of ongoing business and planning activities.
The Environmental Law Practice Group at S. Horowitz & Co. specialises in a broad range of environmental fields, including: non-ionizing radiation, radioactive radiation, sea and water pollution, air pollution, ground pollution, noise and smell hazards, hazardous materials, waste disposal, business licensing, protection of nature reserves and landscape restoration of abandoned quarries, desalination facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, energy and fuel.
We represent our clients in a wide array of legal proceedings, including: civil claims, administrative petitions, proceedings before the High Court of Justice and the Supreme Court, class actions as well as criminal and administrative enforcement proceedings.
Our firm has a proven track record representing clients in criminal proceedings related to environmental issues, inter alia: violations of air and seawater pollution regulations, violations of various permits and business licensing conditions, and more. This includes advising our clients in criminal investigations initiated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, representing them in hearings before the various prosecution authorities, in court, as well as in administrative enforcement procedures, such as proceedings to impose financial sanctions.
Throughout the years, we have acted on many complex, high- profile and high-value environmental claims and have also represented our clients in legal proceedings leading to precedent-setting decisions on environmental law matters.
Our clients include governmental corporations, leading public and private companies, statutory corporations and municipal organisations, as well as office holders therein, in a wide spectrum of industries. In addition, we represent both local and foreign clients in this field of law.
We have extensive experience advising our clients on all environmental law matters stemming from the operation, management and development of their businesses and provide a comprehensive service to our clients on those matters.
We provide ongoing legal consultation, and advise our clients with respect to applicable environmental legislative provisions and regulations. Our Practice Group designs and implements internal investigations and compliance programs on behalf of its clients. These programs are tailored to the corporation’s risk factors and business activities, and are aimed at inculcating a culture of compliance within the corporation, minimising violations of law and environmental incidents, and protecting the corporations and their office holders from sanctions arising from violations of law. In addition, we advise our clients with regard to their relations with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and other regulatory and enforcement authorities.
We also provide our clients with real time legal advice in cases of environmental incidents and breaches of environmental law provisions . Our services span all stages of the event, from the occurrence of the incident or breach, through to the investigation up to the legal and enforcement procedures. Similarly, we provide our clients with legal advice during rehabilitation proceedings, subsequent to the environmental incident.
Furthermore, we advise and represent our clients in transactions involving environmental matters, provide legal consultation on national projects in relation to environmental matters and also offer legal assistance on environmental legislative procedures.
