Our Director
Adv. Efrat Fodem
Director of the Meshane Clinical Center
Adv. Efrat Podem has been the director of the Meshane Clinical Center and instructor at the Clinic for the Advancement of Equality for over a decade. Efrat also teaches, heads a wide range of programs at the Faculty, and conducts research in the areas of law, society, and gender. For over a decade, Efrat has managed the Tmura (“Transformation”) Center for the Advancement of Equality, which promotes social change through the use of innovative civil and legal tools.
Articles by Adv. Efrat Fodem:
The most effective weapon of the abusive man is the court
About
The Meshane Clinical Center is a key arena at the Haim Striks Faculty of Law. The activity at the clinics provides students with a unique opportunity for practical legal-social work, promoting the values of social progress and change, developing critical thinking, and acquiring practical professional tools for joining the labor market. Within this framework, students act on behalf of disadvantaged populations and promote their rights, research and process data, guide legislative processes, negotiate, and represent clients in court. The activity in the clinics provides an opportunity for in-depth acquaintance with civil society organizations, public authorities, government ministries, and law firms. We believe that the experience students acquire in the clinics turns our graduates not only into better lawyers but also better, more ethical and committed human beings.
Our Staff
Law Clinics
Supervised by Adv. Miriam Zalkind
The goal of the clinic is to teach critical legal thinking and develop theoretical and practical tools in the field of gender, law, and social change.
As part of the clinic, students participate in a variety of practical projects aimed at promoting social change and gender equality, including writing bills and promoting them in the Knesset, organizing conferences and seminars, writing position papers, and more.
In addition to their work in the clinic, the students work in organizations that promote women’s rights and social change, attend guest lectures in various fields, and participate in study tours.
Supervised by Adv. Reem Asadi
The clinic promotes patients’ rights and empowers patients in the medical care system.
As part of the clinic, students handle inquiries relating to patients’ rights and formulate position papers, audit reports, and review bills on fundamental issues in the field of law and health. The students also take part in a variety of advocacy activities and enrich their professional knowledge in the field through guest lectures by officials in the health system and lawyers concerning patients’ rights.
Supervised by Adv. Efrat Podem and Adv. Linoy Uliel Sapir
The clinic uses the law to promote equality and assist disadvantaged populations discriminated against based on identity components such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and nationality.
The work in the clinic is varied and helps students gain in-depth familiarity with the rich toolbox that social law has to offer. Among others, students promote policy in the Knesset, manage legal cases, conduct workshops on access to rights and legal information, identify discriminatory situations, and establish think tanks and task forces to eradicate discrimination.
Participants in the clinic also gain close acquaintance with many organizations and social activists who work together for egalitarian social change.
In recent years, the clinic has promoted bills for the protection of women victims of violence, including economic and technological violence, represented clients in legal proceedings in various courts and on a variety of issues, and deepened research on innovative issues that have not yet been framed or defined.
Supervised by Adv. Or Sadan
The Freedom of Information Clinic advocates for the recognition of the importance of government transparency, in general, and as a tool for protecting human rights and for encouraging critical thinking, in particular.
The clinic combines theoretical studies on issues related to transparency, with practical work such as submitting requests for information and writing legal opinions and other legal documents.
Participants in the clinic develop their critical sense, learn how to draft legal documents, submit Freedom of Information requests, and more.
Supervised by Adv. Renana Gan
The clinic is dedicated to legal practice in the field of family law, providing initial assistance and guidance to needy populations: drafting briefs for the court and, in the process, helping students become proficient in legal practice.
As part of the clinic, students assist applicants in handling a variety of legal matters such as alimony claims, statements of defense, requests for stay of exit, requests for temporary foreclosure, protection orders, temporary and permanent restraining orders, etc.
The Family Law Clinic provides students with the opportunity to experience professional legal practice, learn the secrets of the legal profession, and accumulate professional experience, which adds significant value to their internship and work as practicing lawyers.
Supervised by Adv. Assaf Deri
The clinic provides students with practical legal training in various areas of civil law, focusing on debt collection and insolvency law, as well as on the area of public housing.
As part of the clinic, students experience practical legal work before the various instances, meet clients, conduct legal research, and write legal documents, including statements of claim and defense, interim requests, affidavits, summaries, appeals, etc.
Among its activities, the clinic also promotes legislative initiatives, in the course of which students conduct legal research, draft and advance bills, meet with Knesset members, actively participating in Knesset committees.
This innovative clinic is a joint initiative of the School of Law and the School of Behavioral Sciences, and is open to students from both schools. Activities in the clinic combine theoretical study of the social aspects of working with youth at risk, issues relating to the legal status of minors, and the representation of youth in various legal proceedings. Fieldwork includes volunteering in a wide variety of programs for youth at risk and participating in relevant socio-legal projects, such as drafting bills and advancing them in the Knesset, organizing conferences and seminars, facilitating workshops, filing petitions, writing policy papers and more
Supervised by Adv. Nimrod Gorenstein
The Clinic for Aging, Technology, and Human Rights uses legal tools to promote justice in the interaction of elderly people with technological means. The clinic deploys legal tools on two levels: in court (small claims, petitions, etc.) and outside of court (advocacy of policy and social lobbying).
Students participating in the clinic are exposed to theoretical knowledge in the field of law and aging, discover the centers of power that influence older people in Israel, and acquire strategic tools for promoting justice for the elderly.
The Banking Law Clinic is dedicated to legal practice vis-à-vis financial entities, and it promotes financial justice by decreasing the power disparities between citizens and financial institutions.
The main objectives of the clinic are to provide initial assistance and guidance to needy populations, provide practical legal education for students in the field of banking law, and enhance the proficiency of participants in legal practice.
As part of the clinic, students are exposed to the practical legal aspects of private and business banking, and examine the nature of the bank-customer relationship and the obligations imposed on the bank toward the customer by virtue of the law and case law.
Students also participate in study tours and projects aimed at advancing policy and research in the field of banking law.
Legal Workshops
Supervised by Adv. Assaf Deri
The purpose of the workshop is to enable graduates of the clinic system in their third year of studies to independently experience litigation work, with everything it entails: preparing and submitting briefs and other court documents, managing preliminary proceedings, preparing and submitting evidence, preparing for evidentiary hearings and cross-examinations, and preparing summaries.
During the workshop, students learn the principles of proper legal writing, become familiar with the rules of official procedure and considerations in managing a legal case, and learn to work with clients and prepare for their legal hearings, including developing skills for cross-examination.
The studies consist of a theoretical and a practical part, and combine guest lectures by judges and lawyers engaged in civil litigation.
Workshop participants practice the skills they learned in mock legal hearings held throughout the year. Students also handle real legal cases, file lawsuits, and to the extent possible, subject to approval of the courts, represent clients at all stages of small claims hearings: arguments, cross-examinations, and summaries.
The workshop is suitable for graduates of the clinical system who begin their third year of studies in the 2024/2025 academic year.
Supervised by Adv. Renana Gan
Conflicts surround us at every moment and are an inseparable part of the fabric of life. In recent years, we have witnessed the emergence of dispute resolution procedures that serve as an alternative to adjudication: mediation, arbitration, collaborative divorce proceedings, restorative justice, etc. By virtue of the law or the arrangements prescribed therein, most court cases are referred to an alternative procedure to adjudication. In some cases, the parties conduct negotiations in the courtroom and reach agreements.
The workshop is intended for graduates of the clinical system, who attended a mediation course during the first semester of the 2024/2025 academic year and are interested in acquiring additional practical and theoretical tools.
Participation in the workshop provides tools for coping with social, personal, and professional conflicts, which will serve students in their future professional lives. As part of the training, students learn various conflict management skills and acquire practical tools for managing negotiation procedures.
As part of the workshop, students are assigned to a mediator whom they join in mediation, assisting in drafting agreements and having them approved by the court. The mediators deal with diverse legal fields, including tort, family, labor, civil, and commercial law.
