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MOTHER RACHEL
by Adv. Meirav Gesser
"60 percent of the employees in our firm are women * The largest breakthrough occurred when the Diamond industry collapsed * there is no topic in which insurance is not concerned *
Adv. Rachel Levitan - Monologue
I never understood that I wanted to be a lawyer.
My father, who was also a lawyer, died when I completed my army service, and the financial situation at home necessitated that I work during the daytime. I registered for law studies because that was the only faculty at the Tel Aviv University which enabled students to study in the afternoon.
My husband of 36 years - David Levitan
He served in the past as the general manager of the Tel Aviv University and later as the CEO of a company by the name of Hevrat Haovdim. We met during our army service in Unit 8200.
My current partner
Adv. Peggy Sharon. I met her during a university course entitled "Criminal liability of a mentally ill person" during our studies towards a LL.M. degree in commercial law. We both took the course only in order to be in the close presence of the lecturer, Prof. Yuval Levy, one of the most attractive lecturers at the University. This was the first and the last time that we were involved in any way in the field of criminal law.
The decision to become a lawyer
I made the decision during my para-legal training with Prof. Yossi Gross. His ability to analyse was exceptional. I have never heard him say a bad word against anyone, he only indulges everyone around him. From Prof. Gross I obtained the understanding that there is nothing which you cannot do - any know-how is acquired and if you decide that you want to specialize in something else, it depends only on yourself. I specialized in Prof. Gross' office in security and tax law, and with his inspiration I had the courage to approach a new field with which I was not familiar with, the field of insurance.
Upon completion of my para-legal training I decided to work for Ihud Insurance Agency, which was at that time the largest broker in Israel. Within the framework of my studies towards a LL.M degree in law and business administration, I published an article dealing with the liability of banks for safe deposit box holders. Two days after publication, a robbery occurred at the Barclays-Discount Bank and Mr. Uzi Levy, the then general manager of Ihud and later the general manager of Migdal, read it and offered me the job of legal adviser. I worked at Ihud for two years, and from there I went on to Migdal where I served as the chief legal counselor.
At Migdal I experienced a fascinating period
As the in-house legal counselor of Migdal - the largest insurance company in Israel - I was exposed to a wide range of topics, and to the biggest and really interesting legal issues which usually are not handled by outside law firms. A lawyer in a law firm thinks that it is his duty to explain "why not", whereas the in-house lawyer is requested to say "why yes". The in-house counselor is requested to find a way to enable the transaction, (subject to the red line boundary). In my opinion, lawyers who have greatly succeeded in the commercial world were previously in-house counselors.
In 1981 I opened my law firm
At the age of 29 after three years with Migdal, I opened an independent law firm with a partner. We separated soon thereafter because each one of us was in another world. I started the law firm, inter alia because I was very young and it was clear to me that I would always have where to fall back on. Then, and today too, there were very few independent law firms which were established by a woman. We started with a family type of firm and it has grown today to a firm of 26 lawyers.
The biggest breakthrough occurred with the opening of the office
The same year the diamond industry collapsed. This crisis caused the banks losses of hundreds of millions of dollars. I handled a series of cases with an overall value of more than 300 million dollars. The banks had Trustee insurance and the question arose whether it is possible to trigger the policy which covered an occurrence of fraud and theft, while in reality the reason for the non-return of the diamonds was their depreciation in value. At the end of the day, the claims were settled by compromise settlements in tens of millions instead of hundreds of millions.
One of the most widely publicized cases which I handled is the case of Humana (Germany), which was the manufacturer of baby nutrition products for Remedia. The instruction we gave to our public relations person was - don't talk. Post factum we were right. Remedia only whitewashed the accusations and drew fire. We tried to conclude the proceedings outside the Court, and succeeded in almost all the cases, except one. The public relations assisted us in concluding the matter without incurring serious legal expenses.
The world of insurance is, in my opinion, a fascinating one because it covers all aspects. On the one hand I learned how a computer chip is built and on the other hand how to spray an orchard of avocadoes. You must learn the worlds which the insurance policy covers. It is an extremely competitive field since it is influenced by global events: the price for insuring an apartment in Israel may change due to hurricanes in the U.S.A.
Reorganization and better control
About four years ago the office went through a major shake-up. Four partners quit. In retrospect this was for our good. The shake-up forced us to reshuffle. Previously we were unable to accept the fact that the firm had grown to 20 lawyers and continued to run it like a family law firm. Serious consideration was required in order to manage a growing business without disengaging from what is happening in the lower ranks.
One of the problematic matters in this country is the unjustified wish to limit the legal profession, in other words, to prevent partnerships between law firms in Israel and foreign firms or cooperation between lawyers and other professionals. When we will stop relating to the legal profession as a personal mission and relate to the law firm as an asset, we will enable seniors partners to enjoy the fruits of their labour, even after they retire.
Today, when the average age of senior partners in Israeli law firms is between fifty to sixty, the question of retiring from the law firm is acute. The question is how can I ensure that the law firm, which in many cases brings in more income than a public company traded on the stock exchange, will continue to prosper and how can the senior partner realize his/her share? With the prevailing method there is no solution. You lose everything in one day. The younger generation says: "Why should I want to share my income with you? You have done your share, Goodbye". And this requires an amendment.
When you are independent and employ more than 20 lawyers the subject of payment for overtime hours is an excellent idea. The idea that a young lawyer has to be in the office 14 hours a day was certainly not invented by women for the practical reason that we have another life. Once an employer has to pay for overtime hours, it will reach a sane situation where most lawyers will work 9 normal hours.
60 percent of my employees are women
I believe in their working power, and they do their work exceptionally well due to the fact that they have only limited time. In a law firm which works 14 hours, one must examine the output and the quality of work. I have not seen one mother who found it difficult to attend a late meeting, but this does not occur and should not occur every day. How terrible it would be if all our life is only dedicate to work!
I highly encourage childbirth among the staff of the office and every woman is subject to my pro-motherhood pressure. Once a year we organize a Children's Day. One of my missed opportunities is that I did not have two more children.
Significant success is the ability to show the highest level of professional work over a length of time. I work and I expect others to work too without any compromise. No work should be done at the last minute. There is no reason that what can be done tomorrow should not have been done two days ago. This is an iron-clad rule for me.
One of the things I love to do is to travel both in Israel and abroad. According to the partnership agreement I am entitled to 40 days vacation per year, and I am in minus. Every time I hear that a friend has passed away or is ill, I book a flight ticket, or go to the theatre that evening. Life is short. I engage in sport every day, run 7 kilometres on the beach or play golf. I am simply addicted.
This article appeared in November 2007 in the monthly publication "Praklitim" of the Israeli Bar Association - Tel Aviv District. For the full publication in Hebrew please visit http://www.praklitim.com/.
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