Supreme Court Justice Approves Major Fee Increase for Law Firm Linked to Her Conflict List

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ronen participated in a panel that approved a significant increase in legal fees for the law firm Amit, Pollak, Matalon & Co., despite a senior partner at the firm appearing on Ronen's official conflict of interest list. The ruling, issued in October 2024, doubled the fees awarded in a class action lawsuit from 1.5 million to 3.5 million shekels. Sharon Lobetzky-Hess, a senior partner heading the firm's litigation and class action departments, is listed as personally disqualified from cases before Justice Ronen, yet the court approved the fee increase while Ronen was on the panel.

The case involved an appeal by the law firm against a district court decision that had set the fee at 1.5 million shekels. The Supreme Court accepted the appeal and raised the fee by 2 million shekels. This decision contradicts previous Supreme Court guidelines advising caution in increasing class action fees to prevent lawyers from receiving the majority of compensation funds.

Following the report by Channel 14, inquiries were sent to the court administration asking whether Justice Ronen disclosed the conflict of interest, if the issue was reviewed, and whether any exceptional approval was granted for her participation. The court spokesperson responded that the disqualification applies personally to the lawyer, not the entire firm, and clarified that the lawyer in question did not represent the case or appear before Justice Ronen.