Former Herzog Fox Neeman Partners Launch New AI-Focused Law Firm

Attorneys Guy Neeman and Lilach Kinan, who joined Herzog Fox Neeman in 2023, have departed with four other lawyers to establish a new firm, Neeman Kinan & Co. The departing group includes Neeman, former head of "White Collar and Special Solutions," and Kinan, former head of "Special Solutions." A total of six former partners left the firm. Herzog Fox Neeman currently employs over 800 individuals, including 544 attorneys and approximately 233 partners. Notably, Eran Shaham-Shavit, head of the "White Collar" department at Herzog Fox Neeman, and his team remain with the firm.

The move by Neeman and Kinan occurs amidst significant shifts in the global legal industry, often referred to as "Big Law," and substantial investments by law firms in proprietary AI platforms. The Neeman-Kinan team, originally an independent firm founded in 2011 that merged with Herzog in 2023, specialized in litigation and technology. They are now embarking on a new independent path with a "technological-organizational model that seeks to change the traditional pyramid structure of law firms," according to their statement.

Professor Barak Orbach, an expert in law, business, and AI governance, is joining Neeman Kinan & Co. as a senior advisor and Chief AI Officer. He will collaborate on designing work processes, control mechanisms, and training related to artificial intelligence. The new firm will operate under a "Partner-led, Low-leverage and Senior-leverage" model, deviating from the traditional structure where a small number of partners manage a large number of junior associates. In this new model, approximately 80% of the firm's lawyers will be partners or senior attorneys. The firm's technology is intended to equip senior staff with research, analysis, and information processing capabilities that previously required extensive human resources.

Alongside the law firm, a technology company named CIDAH will operate, developing and implementing AI infrastructure, intelligent agents, and Big Data processing systems for business intelligence. Neeman Kinan & Co. will focus on corporate and commercial litigation, corporate governance, securities, white-collar defense, and special solutions, serving clients both in Israel and internationally.