The High-Tech Mediation Department at our firm, led by Adv. Ron Salpeter, specializes in creating contractual solutions for business disputes characteristic of the high-tech industry — an industry in which the damage caused by a public, prolonged dispute calls for a precise, surgical mediation effort. Such an effort must leverage a genuine understanding of the sector’s mindset, together with an insider’s familiarity with the legal arsenal and accepted business practices. This is particularly important given that the industry is marked by a constant need for growth, fundraising, and the proper timing of M&A transactions and capital-market activity — all of which are opportunities highly sensitive to disputes.

Mediation as a dispute-resolution tool is particularly well aligned with the high-tech world, which is always required to move quickly, often prefers to operate “under the radar,” and values efficiency. Mediation offers a discreet, flexible, and rapid process — a significant portion of mediations are concluded on the same day — enabling those involved, including entrepreneurs, investors, partners, and clients, to resolve disputes while minimizing disruption to business routine, protecting trade secrets, and reducing, or even neutralizing, the impact of the dispute on the functioning of teams and organizations.

Our High-Tech Mediation Department brings several unique advantages to the mediation process, grounded in the exceptional accumulated experience of its head, Adv. Ron Salpeter — a mediator, arbitrator, active partner in a venture capital fund, former founder and CEO of a startup company for approximately a decade, and former investment banker for an additional decade.

The department operates on the firm belief that mediation is not merely a solution to a dispute, but a strategic managerial tool, particularly in the high-tech arena. This is reflected in the following:

Alignment with the mentality of the high-tech sector:
We understand, from experience, the language of entrepreneurs, the dynamics of partnerships, the pace of fundraising rounds, and market pressures. The mediation process we lead is adapted to this pace, with a flexible format, including online meetings, immediate availability, and practical, eye-level dialogue.

Having sat in the decision-maker’s chair:
A genuine understanding of the “price” of compromise, of the “tools” available to the CEO who must approve it, and also of its value for the organization and management, improves the chances of achieving an agreement in the negotiation room.

First-hand experience with option plans, negotiations with venture capital funds, and employees across a broad spectrum:
From engineers and scientists to production-line workers and beyond.

Engagement with technological subject-matter experts:
Where necessary, subject-matter experts are examined and engaged based on first-hand experience in managing multidisciplinary teams in technological development processes involving scientists, engineering companies, construction and implementation companies, and others.

Strict preservation of confidentiality:
A fully confidential mediation process enables entrepreneurs and companies to avoid public exposure of disputes in the media or in public legal proceedings, thereby protecting the company’s reputation, including during fundraising processes.

Preservation and restoration of business relationships:
In many cases, the parties to a dispute — whether due to holdings in the venture or due to their subject-matter expertise — are precisely the same people who will need to continue working together afterward. The mediation process we conduct is designed, where possible and appropriate, to rebuild a bridge based on a clear-eyed restoration of shared interests, with the aim of focusing on the future rather than the past.

Creative, value-enhancing solutions:
In the mediation processes we lead, new opportunities often emerge — agreements that would not have been imaginable in court. These may include changing the nature of the relationship with a client, introducing a new partner in another context, or formulating a new joint business strategy.

High-tech mediation is far more than dispute resolution. It is an additional tool — critical when the time comes to use it — in the arsenal available to CEOs operating in a complex business environment. Our High-Tech Mediation Department was established out of a commitment to guiding parties toward practical solutions that enable continued growth, with the understanding that in high-tech, time is not only money; it is often the difference between success and a missed opportunity.

Adv. Ron Salpeter, who founded and leads the department, is one of Israel’s leading experts in mediation in the high-tech sector. Ron has an exceptional background combining law, entrepreneurship, investment, and technology. He is a partner at the venture capital fund IL Ventures; previously served as CEO of a startup company he founded; was an investment banker involved in major international transactions worldwide; has five years of experience as an attorney at Japan’s leading law firm; is certified in mediation by Harvard University; and lectures at the Israel Bar Association.