For more than 30 years, the lawyers at the David Yadid Law Firm and Notary, have been working professionally and with dedication in areas that include exercising rights for the elderly, immigration and full support in the process of obtaining foreign citizenship while providing personal service.

When the firm, established by Adv. David Yadid, started out its main specialty was in realizing the rights of Holocaust survivors. Advocate and notary David Yadid, himself a son of Holocaust survivors, has devoted his efforts to the issue of exercising the rights of survivors and turned it into his life’s work. Eventually, the firm’s areas of practice were expanded to exercise rights for the elderly, immigration and foreign citizenship, including Portuguese citizenship. Each of these areas is handled by a team of lawyers who specialize in the subject.

In addition to the experienced professional team, the firm is part of the Pragma International network of law firms, and collaborates with lawyers from around the world to bring their clients the best results. “In our firm we approach the issue of the rights of Holocaust survivors in a comprehensive and holistic way," says Adv. David Yadid. “Apart from obtaining the rights of Holocaust survivors and handling their cases, we have held and are waging campaigns in Israel and abroad to obtain recognition for groups that have not been recognized to date."

Among the fights conducted by the firm, we can mention the campaign for recognition of the rights of Moroccan Jews, which is led by Adv. Yadid's firm and is currently in the Supreme Court at the stage of awaiting a ruling. The firm also led the struggle to recognize Iraqi Jews as Holocaust survivors in the wake of the Farhud riots. "As part of the struggle, preliminary recognition was obtained for the Jews of Morocco and the Jews of Iraq, which entitles them to annual benefits. We are continuing the struggle for full recognition of their rights," adds Adv. Yadid. “In addition, we gained recognition of the eligibility of a group of Jews from the North Caucasus, after a battle waged over several years both in the Authority for the Rights of Holocaust Survivors in Israel and in authorities in Germany."

Foreign Citizenship

As part of handling claims from Germany, from the date of its establishment the firm has also provided assistance in the procedures for obtaining German and Austrian citizenship. Over the years, a specially designated team has been earmarked for dealing with foreign citizenship, including Portuguese, German, Spanish, Italian, Moroccan and Austrian; investor visas in Portugal, Spain and Greece as well as dealing with immigration issues to Israel, such as obtaining a work visa for a foreign expert.

“We specialize in immigration and citizenship issues and we were among the advisors to the Jewish community in the Portuguese capital," says Adv. Yadid, "as representatives of tens of thousands from the Middle East, we have found ourselves accompanying the issue since 2014. We recommended, for example, that there be no language requirement in the law for the approval of Portuguese citizenship and the requirement was actually omitted from the law. I believe this came about following our recommendation."

Adv. Yadid adds that his firm was among the first to deal with the issue of Portuguese citizenship. "We have more than 3,500 clients who have already received Portuguese citizenship, including the first Israeli and the first minor," he says. "We are probably also among the first to obtain Portuguese citizenship for the spouse of someone who received this citizenship."

David Yadid Law Office – Advocates and Notary, is considered a pioneer in the field of obtaining foreign citizenship, and the team provides full support, including translation services, notary, genealogical investigations and adapting the procedure and support that varies from case to case. "Our main clients come from the business sector and they demand high standards of professionalism and service," says Adv. Yadid. "Many of our clients are very busy people, including senior executives, who want to receive full service throughout the process. We do not 'abandon' them after the process is over, but continue to accompany them, update and advise when there are changes in the law or regulations, rights and obligations."

For example, according to Adv. Yadid, when there were elections in Portugal, relevant information on the subject was sent to all of the firm’s clients who had received Portuguese citizenship, in the event that they sought to exercise their right and vote.

What characterizes applicants for Portuguese citizenship?
“Almost everyone in Israel wants foreign citizenship in general, and of course European citizenship. We know how to give the service to everyone. I always maintain that it is possible to obtain citizenship alone, but the marginal cost of learning how to do it for someone who works in high-tech or owns a business and doesn’t have spare time, it is better to turn to a professional lawyer in the field, who will lead the process thoroughly, quickly and without mistakes."

Adv. Yadid adds that in obtaining European citizenship, there are quite a few benefits, including unlimited entry and free stay in European countries and Schengen Area; the possibility to live and work in a country from day one; dedicated insurance coverage in EU countries and free or lower costs at some European institutions. In addition, there are countries that it is not possible to enter with Israeli citizenship, but with Portuguese citizenship it is easier to get a visa and for a longer period of time.

Another service provided by citizenship team to those who are not eligible for citizenship by virtue of their family origins, is to obtain residency through investment – known as the "Golden Visa," in Portugal, Greece and Spain. The team also accompanies clients who are interested in investing in these countries.

Based on its activity, Adv. Yadid notes that the firm he heads is ranked at Dans100 in the field of immigration. “We handle obtaining visas and immigration to Israel from foreign countries, working with lawyers in the countries of origin and making sure to accompany the client until they obtain citizenship."

Rights for the Elderly

The Yadid Law Firm’s activity is unique, reflected in the fact that it has three main teams of professional and experienced lawyers, with each team responsible for a different area. One of the areas in which the firm specializes is in realizing the rights of the elderly.

“The need to establish a designated team to handle elderly clients came from our clients themselves,” notes Adv. Yadid. “Some of the clients who we handled regarding the acquisition of their rights as Holocaust survivors asked us to help them in other areas as well. Today, this team’s vision is to provide these clients with comprehensive and holistic attention to everything that is required of them vis-à-vis the authorities and institutional bodies, "says Adv. Yedid.

He adds that the staff that handles rights for the elderly provides all services and legal assistance for relevant matters, including property matters, including assistance with rental and sale transactions; preparation of wills and ongoing power of attorney; handling mortgage and reverse mortgage issues and moving to sheltered housing.

David Yadid Law Firm: 11 professional lawyers in their field, including three notaries, and other employees with experience and command of several languagesCredit: Shlomi Yehushua

"The team has handled thousands of clients over the years, including engaging in in-depth conversations related to all of their personal history as Holocaust survivors and submitting applications to exercise their rights," says Adv. Yadid. “Our staff is mainly engaged in realizing long-term care insurance policies and exercising medical rights and medical malpractice vis-à-vis the insurance companies."

"People do not always know they have policies with insurance companies that cover long-term nursing care insurance," he continues, "some reach the stage of requiring long-term care and do not exercise their policies. In the case where they do claim, often the companies reject the claim because the policies are expensive to implement. Most plaintiffs give up. This is a mistake. Everyone needs to fight for the rights they are entitled to, and we are there to fight for the rights and compensation of our customers."

Contractual claims and execution orders

Another team in Adv. Yadid's firm deals with contractual claims and execution orders, mainly representing plaintiffs and those whose cases were won with regard to unfulfilled undertakings. “A significant portion of cases come from attorneys who specialize in other areas and trust our firm's staff to handle obtaining the funds for their clients," says Adv. Yadid.

“Our firm has 11 professional lawyers working in their field, including three notaries, and other employees with many years’ experience who provide assistance with every matter,” and he goes on to note that “our firm’s staff has command of several languages: Hebrew, English, Russian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian. And in addition, every client has a representative assigned to him from the firm who accompanies him throughout the process and is fully available."

“From our point of view, in order for a case to be successful, there must be full cooperation with the client. We work together with our clients fully and achieve extremely high success rates, "concludes Adv. Yadid. “Also, we always act with trust and transparency, and will never publish misleading data just to attract clients. We are proud that lawyers from other law firms trust us and even transfer clients to us."