The Israel Bar Association (IBA) is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers.
The Israel Bar is organized as a corporation, with a Central Committee, a National Assembly and five districts. Membership is mandatory for lawyers licensed in Israel. The top positions are filled by elections held every four years. The president from July 2007 to July 2011 was Yori Geiron of the law firm Geraldson, Marks And Xeno.
The Israel Bar Association was established in 1961 as an autonomous statutory entity that assures the standard and integrity of the legal profession in Israel.
The law empowers the Israel bar with mandatory authority to regulate ethical and disciplinary matters, to accredit interns, conduct the Bar Exam twice a year, and issue licenses. As a matter of discretionary authority, the law empowers the Israel Bar to take actions for the benefit of its members, and to take legal actions against those trespassing on the profession. It is considered a self regulated "guild", created under the concept that lawyers are better equipped to discipline themselves without government or judicial supervision. This is contrary to the United States, where lawyers must seek admission from the Courts in each State they wish to practice, and obtain additional separate licenses from Federal Courts. Therefore, membership in the Israel Bar is compulsory, and it is the only bar recognized under the law. Under the umbrella of the Israel Bar different committees devoted to almost every imaginable aspect of the law convene on a voluntary basis. Those committees, however, have very limited and minuscule role in the daily practice of attorney, and have minimal influence in the process of drafting and passing laws.
Two standing committees of the IBA are the Mandatory Mediation Committee, and the "Schar Mitzvah" (Pro Bono Program) Committee.
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