A senior lawyer who spent decades collecting debts for banks, authorities, and institutional bodies found himself in debt of over 16 million shekels - and lost his license to practice law after being declared insolvent.
A., a veteran and well-known lawyer in his field, aged 79, ran one of the largest debt collection firms in Israel for years. The firm employed dozens of employees and represented, among others, banks, local authorities, the Tax Authority and large companies, and was considered a well-known and prominent figure in the field.
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In July 2025, seven of A's longtime employees, who had not received their salaries for several months, applied to the Rishon LeZion Magistrate's Court with a request to declare him insolvent.
The employees, some of whom are lawyers, asked the court to dissolve the law firm he owns, and within this framework to pay them the unpaid salary and social benefits, in an amount of no less than 2.5 million shekels.
A. opposed the request and claimed that the duties required were not precise, that some of them were controversial, and that this was in fact a labor dispute that must be resolved in the appropriate court.
At the end of December 2025, after several postponements, Judge Karin Vishinsky ruled that A. was insolvent and ordered the opening of proceedings against him. As part of her decision, the judge ordered the Commissioner for Insolvency and Economic Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Justice to appoint a trustee for him, and later, Attorney Assaf Eyal was appointed as trustee to manage his assets.
As soon as it became known that insolvency proceedings had been opened against him, dozens of additional debt claims were filed against A., and his total debts exceed 16 million shekels, towards employees, authorities, his former clients, financial institutions, and private creditors.
At the same time, his ability to continue practicing law was affected, to the point of revoking his license, as lawyers cannot continue to practice their profession when they are in insolvency proceedings.
Following the decision, A. filed an appeal with the Lod District Court through his attorney, Attorney Zvi Weishengard. As part of the appeal, it was argued that closing the door to him continuing to practice law harms his ability to repay his debts, as this is his main source of income.
As part of the appeal, A. asked the court to cancel the order to open proceedings and allow him to file a request for a creditors' arrangement, which would allow him to continue practicing his profession under supervision, so that he could continue to generate income, collect debts from his clients, and increase the rate of repayment to creditors.
He claims that preventing work actually harms the creditors themselves, as it reduces their ability to repay.
As of this time, a decision on the appeal has not yet been made, and the question of whether A. will be able to continue practicing law within the framework of a creditors' arrangement remains open.
On the one hand, if he is not allowed to continue working as a lawyer, the ones who will actually be harmed are his creditors, as his ability to earn and repay his many debts will be significantly affected. On the other hand, if he is no longer able to continue practicing his profession, the trustee will realize his assets and the creditors will receive a small portion of the resulting debts.
Adv. Zvi Weishengard serves as Chairman of the Insolvency Committee at the Bar Association and in the Central District and specializes in representing debtors in insolvency and financial rehabilitation proceedings.
