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GC Summit: South East Europe 2019

Speakers

Penkov, Markov & Partners

Alexander Stefanov
Partner, Penkov, Markov & Partners

Mr Stefanov joined Penkov, Markov & Partners in 2008 and became a partner in 2014. He has significant experience in a large number of corporate and commercial, restructuring, financing and M&A deals, and he is now leading the insolvency and tax practices of the firm and vice-heading the litigation practice. Mr Stefanov is a member of the Sofia Bar Association.

Nikolay Cvetanov
Partner, Penkov, Markov & Partners

Mr Cvetanov joined Penkov, Markov & Partners in 2008 and became a partner in 2014. He heads Penkov, Markov & Partners’s state regulations, IT/media and fintech practice groups and he has a considerable experience in the areas of commercial law and banking as well as in finance law, litigation, corporate law, commercial and financial projects. Mr Cvetanov is a member of the Sofia Bar Association and has been chairman of the Association for Responsible Non-Banking Lending since 2014.

Atanas Valov
Associated partner, Penkov, Markov & Partners

Mr Valov joined Penkov, Markov & Partners in 2006 and became an associated partner in 2018. He has a leading role in the real estate and construction, litigation and arbitration practice groups. Mr Valov also dedicates significant time to the M&A branch of the law firm’s practice. Mr Valov is a member of the Sofia Bar Association.

CHSH

Hans Kristoferitsch
Partner, CHSH

Hans Kristoferitsch, LL.M. (Harvard) is a partner at CHSH Vienna. His main areas of expertise include data protection, telecommunications, e-commerce as well as general EU-law. Hans regularly assists multinational clients with IT, GDPR compliance and regulatory projects.

Hans teaches at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, regularly gives lectures on data protection and compliance and is the author of several publications.

JPM

Ivan Milosevic
Partner, JPM

Ivan Milosevic is a partner in JPM, and his practice is mainly regulatory matters (data protection, consumer law and public procurement law) with a particular focus on legal advising of the respective companies and representation of their interests before the Serbian governmental authorities.

Dynamix Lab

Alexander Balabanov
Corporate trainer and performance coach, Dynamix Lab

Alexander Balabanov is a corporate trainer and performance coach at Dynamix Lab.

Pekin & Pekin

Yegân Liaje
Senior partner, corporate/M&A – Pekin & Pekin

The leading senior partner of the corporate/M&A department of Pekin & Pekin, Yegân Liaje has more than 15 years of transactional and regulatory experience in M&A projects in the energy, infrastructure, transportation, media and healthcare sectors. Prior to joining the Pekin & Pekin corporate/M&A team in 2011, Yegân was a key member of the corporate departments of two leading Turkish law firms, where she developed her expertise in pharmaceutical, energy, media and telecommunications industries. Yegan was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to pursue law studies at George Washington University Law School and she received her LLM degree in 2007 from George Washington University Law School. She also holds a second LLM degree in corporate law from Galatasaray University, where she also completed her undergraduate law degree. In the course of her masters and doctorate studies at Galatasaray University, Yegân was involved in the publication of various academic studies.

Zeynep Şener
Partner, corporate/M&A, competition, Pekin & Pekin

Zeynep Şener joined the corporate/M&A department at Pekin & Pekin in 2012 and became a partner in 2017. She advises clients on cross-border M&A deals, joint ventures and other corporate law related matters, with particular experience in regulated sectors such as energy, transportation, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and banking. Zeynep also leads the competition law practice at Pekin & Pekin, overseeing clearance and exemption filings as well as providing advice in compliance, franchising and distributorship queries.

In addition to her Turkey-based expertise, Zeynep is a US qualified lawyer and a member of the Massachusetts bar. A graduate of Harvard Law School (JD), Zeynep served as the president of the Harvard European Law Association during her law school career, as well as conducting clinical projects with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society Cyberlaw Clinic and the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program. Zeynep received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, Columbia University (BA, summa cum laude).

Özge Okat
Senior partner, capital markets, Pekin & Pekin

Özge Okat has more than 20 years of transactional and regulatory experience in the areas of capital markets and banking & finance. He joined Pekin & Pekin in 2011, after gaining significant experience at the Capital Markets Board and a law firm in Istanbul.

Throughout this time he has repeatedly been called upon to demonstrate his superior ability to apply his expertise to the most complex and significant legal matters in the jurisdiction. He is a senior partner in Pekin & Pekin and leading the capital markets team in the firm and advises multinational banks, financial institutions, and corporations in various cross-border and domestic capital markets transactions and on regulatory matters. He advises regularly on derivatives, equity and debt securities offerings, Islamic finance transactions and private placements. He also conducts the government affairs and compliance practice of the firm. His publications include books and several articles in several business dailies and magazines.

Eda Beltan
Partner, banking and finance, Pekin & Pekin

Eda Beltan joined Pekin & Pekin in 2014 and became a partner in 2018. She leads the Banking & Finance team, advises and represents both international and local clients from a wide range of sectors on cross border financings including regulatory issues, islamic finance, project finance, acquisition finance and other banking & finance transactions and PPP projects. She has significant experience in energy and infrastructure industries and involved in the advisory team of Turkey’s first NPP and took part in negotiations of the second nuclear power plant in relation to intergovernmental and host government agreements.

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GC Summit Turkey 2019

 

In association with

Gün + Partners is a full-service institutional law firm with a strategic international vision, providing transactional, advisory and dispute management services.It is one of the oldest and largest law firms in Turkey and is internationally recognised among the top tier legal service providers in the country.

The firm is based in Istanbul, with working and correspondent offices in Ankara, İzmir and the major commercial centres in Turkey.

The firm advises a large portfolio of clients in numerous fields of activity, including life sciences, energy, construction & real estate, logistics, technology, media and telecoms, automotive, FMCG, chemicals and the defence industries.

All lawyers work in Turkish and English and majority of them also offer fluency in German and French.

BTS & Partners is a business enabler and policy influencer in sectors where digital technologies and law are the key considerations for business success and digital transformation. Its mission is to change the understanding and scope of legal consultancy services, by integrating business, technology, strategy and a deeper understanding of law into its services. BTS’s motto, ‘Business Technology Strategy @ Law’, suggests the broad spectrum of services that it offers.

BTS provides its services to large business conglomerates and companies which lead the Turkish economy, as well as the largest technology companies listed in Fortune 500. BTS has been recognised by all the stakeholders of Turkish economy as well as the multinational players. BTS’s vision is to become much more than a law firm, to undertake the role of a business enabler, with an ambition to disrupt the status quo.

BTS is in co-operation with reputable global law firms, academic institutions, international organisations and consultancy firms with respect to its areas of expertise. This contributes to BTS’s know-how on a global scale while constituting a resource to develop a service methodology to meet the legal needs of its clients abroad.

Being one of the independent full service law firms of Turkey Moral & Partners enjoys providing legal services to its international and national clients with its 40 people dynamic and experienced team.

Industry expertise

Moral & Partners has a broad range of national and international clients in various sectors, including but not limited to retail, automotive, FMCG, construction and real estate, energy and natural resources, textiles and fashion, financial institutions, industrial and manufacturing, logistics, media, pharmaceuticals and health, technology and telecommunications, shipping and maritime, food and entertainment.

Free zones as well as organised industrial zones have a notable place in Moral & Partners’ expertise.

Client profile

National and international companies, conglomerates, international law firms, financial institutions and institutional investors constitute Moral & Partners’ client profile.

Areas of practice

Banking and Finance, Compliance, Corporate Law, Customs Law, Cyber Security Law, Data Protection, Energy Law, Informatics Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Contracts and Commercial Transactions, Labour and Social Security Law, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Clients, Real Estate and Construction Law.

Yegin Çiftçi Attorney Partnership is a leading Turkish law firm focusing on corporate/M&A, banking and finance, capital markets and privatisations, with a specific focus on the energy, infrastructure, consumer goods and retail and TMT sectors.

Yegin Ciftci holds a strong presence in the local M&A market and taking part in numerous ground-breaking deals. Advising international strategic and financial investors on M&A transactions in Turkey and assisting Turkish clients on their international acquisitions, Yegin Ciftci’s Corporate/M&A department is best known for its strong track record on complex and structured M&A transactions, and is singled out for its sector knowledge. Among other areas, the firm focuses on cross-border acquisitions, public and private M&A, structured equity transactions, management/leveraged buyouts, asset/business transfers, restructurings and strategic alliances in corporate or other forms, enabling clients to achieve their investment strategies.

 

Topics

Topics include:

Managing the dispute
This panel discussion will address the way in which the corporations should approach disputes effecting their business, focusing on in-house counsel’s concerns and difficulties, on best ways to avoid resorting to dispute resolution mechanisms and finding a way to resolve them amicably and cost effectively, uncertainty an disruption to the business and, if it cannot be avoided, how to best manage a dispute. National and international level forum selection, choosing between common law and continental law jurisdictions, retaining legal counsel, cultural differences and managing the external and court process as well as managing expectations, frustrations and interruptions throughout.

 

Speakers include

Mehmet Gün
Founding partner, Gün + Partners

Mehmet Gün is the founding partner of Gün + Partners, which he founded in 1986 as a firm offering full commercial and corporate law and IP rights services.

During his almost 40-year career, Mr Gün has developed expertise in many areas of law, including commercial, corporate and IP law. He is considered one of Turkey’s top international commercial lawyers and recognised by his peers and the business community as the leading IP lawyer in Turkey.

Mr Gün is familiar with the nuances of common and civil law proceedings and advocates for the improvement of the Turkish judiciary for the implementation of full disclosure in Turkish civil procedures.

Mr Gün is familiar with common law and the United Kingdom’s dispute resolution capacity, as well as the differences between Turkish and UK dispute resolution. He believes that Turkey should emulate the German, French and UK judiciary systems. He has worked with many UK law firms throughout his career, having advised many clients in the London reinsurance market and has acted as co-arbitrator, expert witness and co-counsel in the resolution of disputes involving both Turkish and English law.

Emre Derman
Board member of Akbank and Turcas and freelance consultant

Emre Derman began his career at White & Case in 1989 and worked on a wide variety of corporate matters until 2008 when he left as the managing partner of the Istanbul office. He has also worked in New York and London and in many Eastern European countries during his term as counsel at the EBRD in 1994-1995. He was a managing director and the senior country officer of JP Morgan in Turkey between 2011 and 2014. Currently, he is a board member of Akbank and Turcas and a freelance consultant advising on a broad range of strategic, legal and financial matters. Derman holds an LLB from Istanbul University and an LLM from Harvard Law School. He is an avid sailor and competes in yacht races.

Andrew Savage
Partner, McDermott Will & Emery

Andrew Savage focuses his practice on commercial and finance disputes and international arbitration. He has a wealth of experience across all sectors and industries, including finance, insolvency, energy, insurance (for policy holders), fraud, commodities, shipping, construction, IT and art theft.

Andrew has been recommended in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 for his expertise. His experience includes advising: Lehman Brothers Finance AG (in liquidation) on high value contentious matters; an investor regarding ICSID arbitration proceedings against an Eastern European state; and a listed hedge fund on claims from the transition of its positions from one prime broker to another.

Itır Çiftçi
Partner – corporate/M&A, Yegin Çiftçi Attorney Partnership

Itır Çiftçi is the partner heading the corporate/M&A practice of Yegin Çiftçi Attorney Partnership. During her practice of over 25 years, she has been at the forefront of the legal market, advising prominent strategic and financial investors on numerous landmark transactions and major privatisations with an excellent knowledge of the Turkish market and its key players.

Itır has vast experience of structured equity investments, joint ventures and private equity funds and holds an industry specialism with a focus on financial services, consumer goods & retail, infrastructure and energy. She has developed a very strong market practice and is widely recognised amongst her peers and clients.

Vefa Reşat Moral
Managing Partner, Moral & Partners

Vefa Reşat Moral heads the corporate and M&A department of the firm. The Legal 500 2019 edition says that he ‘thinks outside the box, communicates well and adopts a commercial approach’. Reşat advises companies and conglomerates as their external counsel 24/7.

His work focuses on general corporate issues, mergers and acquisitions, commercial law, art law, energy law, project finance, banking, private equities and real estate law in a wide range of industries including but not limited to; FMCG, art, heavy industry, energy and natural resources, retail, textiles, construction and real estate, aviation and defense and automotive. His family business experience deserves a separate chapter under his legal expertise, having advised leading Turkish families in both corporate governance projects and M&A transactions apart from his general counsel role.

Reşat was awarded as the only Corporate Advisory Lawyer by the Client Choice Awards in 2018. He is ranked in Chambers and Partners and THe Legal 500 EMEA in the commercial, corporate and M&A categories. Reşat graduated from Dokuz Eylül University’s School of Law and holds a LLM degree in business law from the University of Galatasaray.