Co-Chairs Delegation Aimed at Fostering Ties With Leading Israeli Water Innovation Experts

Thomas R. Burton, III, Chair of the Energy and Clean Technology Practice of  Mintz, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. and a Member in the firm’s Corporate & Securities Section, will be part of a delegation participating in a water innovation trade mission to Israel December 16-19. 

Mr. Burton is a Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Water Innovation Mission to Israel, which is a direct follow on to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s 2011trip to Israel.  Mr. Burton and several other Massachusetts business leaders were tapped by the Governor to organize the mission.

The four-day trip is designed to foster partnerships between Massachusetts academics, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and policy makers with their Israeli colleagues who are at the forefront of water innovation technology.  Israel is considered a global leader with respect to water innovation, recycling 86% of its water and operating the largest desalination plant in the world at the lowest-cost operating expense, among other achievements.

“With almost 30 water technology companies already in Massachusetts generating nearly $4 billion in revenue, the state has a head start in becoming the place where companies wishing to expand in the U.S. can find the workforce, access to funding and support they need to grow,” said Mr. Burton.

The agenda for the trip includes private meetings with Israeli water industry entrepreneurs, major company executives, investors, and government officials, plus site visits, “speed dating” for water research academics, and a technology competition. 

Mintz has been focused on the Israel-related business market since 2001. The firm launched its dedicated Israel Business Practice in 2006 and established a liaison office in Tel Aviv in 2009.  Mintz currently advises more than 100 clients who have ties to Israel, including Israeli companies operating in the US and domestic companies with Israel-related transactions.  Mintz serves a diverse variety of clients in its IBP Group - ranging from startups to publicly traded companies – in a broad spectrum of matters, including general corporate work, IP, high-tech, clean-tech, litigation, employment, immigration and regulatory matters.

Since January 2006, Mintz attorneys have closed 300 transactions in the energy and clean technology sector including: venture capital transactions (representing companies and investors), initial public offerings and follow-on offerings, private placements, M&A deals, technology licensing and joint venture transactions, totaling approximately $5.4 billion in transaction value.  In addition, the group handles the development, financing, and construction of hundreds of megawatts of energy generating facilities.