Avigdor Liberman's decision to resign immediately from his post as foreign minister is the outcome of a basic risk-management policy.

On Friday morning, Liberman convened his top-notch lawyers to receive a learned and up-to-date assessment, which consisted of two parts. The first one contended with the chances of his conviction in the ambassador affair. The second one addressed the chances of the petition filed against him with the Supreme Court with the demand that he resign from the government upon arraignment.

This is what Liberman's lawyers told him: If you're going to trial, you'll be acquitted. Not 90%, not 99%, but 100%. Headed by attorneys Jacob Weinroth and Giora Aderet, the legal team gave Liberman a convincing presentation to the effect that there was no danger whatsoever that he would be convicted. Incidentally, even in the event of conviction, they were utterly convinced that the punishment would be light and without "moral turpitude" allowing him therefore to return summarily to the political arena.

As for the Supreme Court, which was petitioned by the Meretz movement, the attorneys had a different assessment. In this case, anything's possible. All options are on the table; it's a tossup. Some legal opinions maintained that Liberman could keep his job. Other assessments — as well as a few precedent rulings (such as the cases of Minister Arieh Deri and Deputy Minister Rafael Pinhasi, who were forced to resign upon arraignment) — contended that the Supreme Court might force the minister to resign.