Meir Linzen

Background

Meir Linzen was born on June 25, 1958, in Israel. He was born to Polish Holocaust survivors, and his mother, Ita Linzen (née Weisman), survived the Warsaw Ghetto, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen. The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists states that this personal history informs his commitment to justice and human rights.

His birth came in a young state that had been founded in 1948 and absorbed large numbers of Holocaust survivors in its early decades. The Warsaw Ghetto, which his mother survived, was established by German occupation authorities in 1940 as a closed district for Warsaw's Jewish population.

Education

Linzen received a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree cum laude from Tel Aviv University. He was admitted to practice in Israel in 1982.

Founded in 1956, Tel Aviv University grew into one of Israel's largest institutions of higher education. Its Faculty of Law hosts advanced legal studies and interdisciplinary research centers, bodies with which Linzen was later connected through governance roles.

Linzen later held visiting professorships at Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Bar-Ilan University, established in 1955 in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, is a comprehensive institution with a religiously oriented founding tradition, while Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, founded in 1969 in Beersheba, was named after David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister.

Career

Linzen was admitted to practice in Israel in 1982 and went on to build his career at Herzog Fox & Neeman. The firm was founded in 1972 by Chaim Herzog, Michael Fox, and Yaakov Neeman. Herzog later became Israel's sixth president, Fox was known for corporate work and contributions to Israel's infrastructure, energy, and natural resource sectors, and Neeman was a tax adviser who later served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Justice.

The firm was originally a boutique operation serving international clients and has since grown into one of Israel's largest full-service law firms. Linzen was a partner there and managed the firm as its managing partner for more than two decades. He is now chairman and heads the Tax, Private Client, and Gaming & Gambling departments. The Tax Department he leads is described as the largest and best-known tax practice in Israel.

His practice centers on cross-border tax planning, the tax aspects of international mergers and acquisitions, and transfer pricing. He has advised banks, multinational corporations, and private clients on international tax and estate planning, and has been counted among the leading lawyers in the e-commerce field. His background in international law also informs his work in public international law and in defense and homeland security.

In addition to his law firm work, Linzen was volunteer legal counsel to the Economic Corporate Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that helped facilitate the Oslo Accords, the 1993 agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Achievements

• As head of the Tax Department at Herzog Fox & Neeman, he advised on the tax aspects of significant Israeli transactions involving multinational corporations, including acquisitions of local companies, transfer pricing, and investor and employee benefits.

Works

• book chapter

  • Private Client Law Guide

    (Authored the Israel chapter of the second edition, which ...)

Membership

Linzen has been active in the Israel Bar Association, the national body of Israeli advocates. He has held committee roles that include vice chairman of the Tax Forum and chairman of the International Law and Trusts committees, and he currently chairs the International Relations and Tax committees.

STEP (the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) is an international professional body for specialists in trusts, estates, and private client planning. Linzen has served as chairman of its Israeli branch, STEP Israel, for ten years. He has also served on the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University and on the board and executive committee connected with the Faculty of Law's advanced studies and interdisciplinary research programs.

The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists is an international association of Jewish legal professionals that submits briefs and legal opinions to national and constitutional courts. Linzen has served as its president since 2018, and under his leadership the association has submitted briefs in cases in Poland and Germany.

• Vice chairman of the Tax Forum; chairman of the International Law and Trusts committees; currently chairs the International Relations and Tax committees.

  Israel Bar Association , Israel

• Chairman for approximately ten years.

  STEP Israel (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) , Israel

• Member.

  Tel Aviv University Board of Governors , Israel

• Member of the board of directors and of the executive committee of its Advanced Law Studies program and the Cegla Center for Interdisciplinary Research.

  Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law , Israel

• President

  International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists

  2018 - present

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• A client testimonial published in a Legal 500 profile describes him as a highly experienced tax lawyer who is widely respected for professionalism, integrity, and strong ethical values.

Connections

Mother:

Ita Linzen

Née Weisman; survived the Warsaw Ghetto, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen.

References

• Chambers Global Guide 2025: Meir Linzen Chambers profile describing him as chairman of Herzog Fox & Neeman and one of Israel's leading tax experts, with more than forty years of experience.
  2025
• The Legal 500: Meir Linzen Legal 500 profile covering his role heading the firm's Tax, Private Client, and Gaming & Gambling departments and his tax specialisms.
• Martindale-Hubbell: Meir Linzen Professional profile covering his chairmanship of the firm, bar admission in 1982, professional memberships, and recognitions.
• International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists: Meir Linzen Association profile describing his presidency since 2018, his leadership of the Israel Bar's international and tax committees, his education, and his family's Holocaust background.
• Herzog Fox & Neeman: Private Clients, Trusts & Estates Firm page describing his leadership of the Tax Department and the Private Clients, Trusts and Estates Department and his service as chairman of STEP Israel.