United States: Securities Law
Securities Rule Change for Private Offerings. When companies raise money from investors in the U.S., they must follow U.S. Securities Act rules.  One way that companies can do this is by conducting a “private offering”.  A simple way to qualify for a private offering is to sell only to “Accredited Investors”.  Accredited Investors include people who earn at least $200,000 per year or who have at least $1,000,000 in “Net Worth”.  In 2010, Congress instructed the Securities and Exchange Commission to make this rule stricter, which the Commission has just done.  Now, in calculating Net Worth, we must exclude the value of an investor’s home.  This makes it a bit more difficult for companies to find Accredited Investors for financings.

Israel: Civil Law
The High Court of Justice in Israel rejected appeals against the "Citizenship Law". Majority of six justices to five rejected the 2007 petition against the law, which was designed to reduce family unification of Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. Judge Grunis, the newly appointed President of The Supreme Court of Israel, who was in the majority opinion, wrote that the damage to family life should be weighed against the certain harm to the lives and bodies of Israelis, based on past experience.

United States: Constitutional Law and Marriage Law
In June, New York became the sixth and largest state in the country to allow same-sex marriage. Nonetheless, there are still serious legal questions are raised relating to statutory and constitutional interpretation. In January of this year a NY state judicial ethics panel has declined to offer an opinion on whether judges are required to perform same-sex marriages, citing its lack of authority to weigh in on constitutional issues. The 26-member committee found that judges are not required to perform marriages. Even thought it seems obvious that judges could not use a discriminatory basis for refusal to conduct a wedding this question is still unsettled and highly controversial.

Israel: Judicial Proceedings
After extended deliberations the Judicial Appointments Committee announced the nomination of four new Supreme Court judges. The four new additions to the Supreme Court are Jerusalem District Court Judge Noam Sohlberg, Deputy President of the Jerusalem District Court Zvi Zylbertal, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Uri Shoham and Professor Dafna Barak-Erez, who serves as Dean of Law at the Tel Aviv University. The nomination came as a surprise given the recent political debate surrounding the Judicial Appointments Committee, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspending a bill aimed to change the balance of power within the committee.

United States: Business Law
Legislation pending in Congress might make crowd-funding possible for entrepreneurs by permitting businesses to raise capital in small doses– up to $10,000 a year per investor. Crowd-funding allows entrepreneurs and start-ups to receive financial backing in small amounts of money from large numbers of donors in exchange for equity. The crowd-funding proposal will allow investors to use social media platforms to raise funds. Those who oppose the proposal believe that it could generate frauds and put unsophisticated investors at risk.    

Israel: Slander, Libel and Defamation Law
An amendment to Israel’s libel law was passed in its first reading at the Knesset in November. The amendment’s objective is to increase the maximum compensation paid for libel violations without proof of damages from 50,000 NIS to 300,000 NIS (approximately $80,000). Critics of the amendment perceive it as a way to limit free speech and expression in Israel by using civil, monetary penalties.