Özdirekcan Dündar Senocak Ak in partnership with Gide Loyrette Nouel

Member of Lex Mundi

Ali Osman Ak

As a partner in the firm, Ali Osman Ak is responsible for managing and monitoring pre-litigation, litigation and employment law matters. Ali regularly advises foreign investors in commercial, corporate and employment law disputes. He represents them before the civil and administrative courts. He also advises on all matters relating to bankruptcy and composition proceedings. He also specialises in litigation concerning the exequatur of foreign judgments and arbitration awards. Ali represent our clients in disputes arising from both local and international insurance policies. He also participate in the resolution of disputes arising between insurers and insureds in relation to reinsurance policies. He follow up administrative disputes arising from regulatory actions (cancellation of licences and permits, etc.) or fines imposed by the administration (due to breach of data protection laws, environmental legislation, etc.). Together with our tax department, he is following disputes arising from taxes accrued and tax fines imposed on non-resident companies in Turkey. Ali has recognised expertise in employment law and assists numerous companies with all their human resources management, recruitment and redundancy issues. Ali advises clients on appointments, remuneration, responsibilities, social protection, taxation, mobility, non-competition clauses, termination of employment contracts and other issues relating to employees in management positions. He is involved in the design and implementation of various plans, including loyalty plans, whether structured locally or as a result of the implementation of global employee plans. Ali advise our clients on ethical principles, compliance policies and practices, and specifically on managing social risks such as discrimination, harassment, corruption, fraud, data protection, respect for human rights, duty of care, corporate social responsibility, social dialogue, occupational health and safety, and crisis management. A graduate of Istanbul University Law School (2001). Ali was admitted to the Istanbul Bar in 2003. He teaches labour law at various institutions.

İklim Gülsün Aytekin

Iklim Gülsün Aytekin is an Counsel in the Corporate/M&A and in the Competition teams. Her activities cover mergers and acquisitions and investment structuring. In this context, she is regularly advising domestic and international investors in their acquisition and joint-venture projects in Turkey. She is also specialised in competition law (including representation of clients before the Competition Authority for - pre-investigations, investigations and hearings) and has a deep knowledge of Turkish and international competition law matters, relying on experience gathered through her involvement in numerous assignments in multijurisdictional competition notifications and on strong academic background acquired in the EU. Most recently, Iklim has advised (i) Yves Rocher for the sale of its full shares in Flormar and (ii) Izocam, Turkish affiliate of Saint Gobain, for the acquisition of sole control of His Yalitim in Türkiye with regards to competition law and corporate law aspects. Iklim is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at Marmara University (Istanbul). She obtained a Master 2 in European Union Law and European Policies from the Université Paul Cézanne (Aix-en-Provence, France) and an LLM in European Law from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium). She has been a member of the Istanbul Bar since 2012.

Arzu Bekem

Arzu Bekem is a member of Intellectual and Industrial Property department of Istanbul Office. She specializes in intellectual property, advising local and foreign clients on trademarks, designs, copyright, IP litigation and prosecution matters. She also pleads before commercial, civil and criminal IP-specialized courts, and regularly acts on Uniformed Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) before WIPO. She supports the IP team on seizures and destruction of counterfeit products throughout Turkey on behalf of major multinational companies. Along with being an experienced litigation attorney in IP Law, Arzu is also skilled in trademark and industrial design portfolio management as being a qualified trademark attorney and managing portfolios of companies through Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. She handles all types of IP related civil and criminal actions and execute the IP & IT related contract processes. She conducts IP rights portfolio management for the clients which are international companies active in food, food supplement, cosmetics, medicines, luxury goods, textile, automotive, hospitality and many other sectors. She was licensed by the Istanbul Bar Association and graduated with an LLM from the University of Surrey. As an Active member of AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle), she is currently working as Moderator of Legislative Monitoring and Compilation Working Group. She specializes in intellectual property, advising local and foreign clients on trademarks, designs, copyright, IP litigation and prosecution matters. She also pleads before commercial, civil and criminal IP-specialized courts, and regularly acts on Uniformed Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) before WIPO. She supports the IP team on seizures and destruction of counterfeit products throughout Turkey on behalf of major multinational companies. Along with being an experienced litigation attorney in IP Law, Arzu is also skilled in trademark and industrial design portfolio management as being a qualified trademark attorney and managing portfolios of companies through Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. She handles all types of IP related civil and criminal actions and execute the IP & IT related contract processes. She conducts IP rights portfolio management for the clients which are international companies active in food, food supplement, cosmetics, medicines, luxury goods, textile, automotive, hospitality and many other sectors.

Esra Dündar Loiseau

Esra Dündar Loiseau is a Partner in the Intellectual Property team of Gide's correspondent firm in Turkey, Özdirekcan Dündar Şenocak Ak. Esra provides assistance in all aspects of intellectual property/IT, which may arise in the day-to-day business of companies such as trademarks, patents, designs, copyright, trademark prosecution before the national office, also in IT law, including Internet law, software. She also appears before the civil and criminal courts specialising in intellectual property and regularly acts on seizures of counterfeit products throughout Turkey, on behalf of major multinationals in various sectors including luxury goods, perfumes and cosmetics, textiles, car parts, toys, jewellery, technology, etc. Esra has been a Trademark Attorney since 2007 and is President of the Organising Committee of the AIPPI 2023 Congress in Istanbul. She has been a French Foreign Trade Advisor since 2018 and a member of AIPPI, INTA, APRAM and MARQUES and is UNIFAB's recommended expert as exclusive representative for Turkey. Esra has been a member of the Istanbul Bar since 1996.

Mustafa Karadaş

Associate Mustafa Karadas specialises in the fields of mergers & acquisitions and corporate law. His practice covers commercial transactions, foreign investments, competition law, corporate governance and general company law advice. Mustafa, whose practice also encompasses cross-border banking and finance transactions, advises borrowers and lenders on multijurisdictional financings. Admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association in 2021, he graduated from Bilkent University Law School in 2020.

Cansu Koyuncu

Cansu Koyuncu is an associate in the litigation team. She specialises in labour, corporate and consumer law, as well as alternative dispute resolution. She represents and provides legal assistance to local and foreign clients from wide range of industrial sectors such as automotive, tourism, insurance, energy etc. on their daily operations. She also specializes enforcement, bankruptcy law and commercial claims regarding to conduct corporate transactions and contracts. Cansu graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Law in 2016 as an honor student and admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association and Union of Turkish Bars since 2017. She was entitled to become a mediator in 2023. Accordingly she completed her specialization training for employment mediation at Altınbas University and consumer mediation at Okan University.

Mehmet Kösoğlu

Mehmet Kosoglu is an associate of Gide and of its correspondent firm in Turkey, Ozdirekcan Dundar Senocak Ak. Admitted to Istanbul Bar in 2009, Mehmet Kosoglu concentrates on banking finance and project finance transactions where he has been involved in structuring, drafting and perfecting financing and security agreements, drafting/amending of relevant corporate documents and issuance of legal opinions. As a member of the bank finance team, he advises clients on a wide variety of banking and corporate law issues relating to financing structures. Mehmet graduated from the Law School of Istanbul University and holds a Master's Degree in Private Law from Istanbul University.

Süleyman Cem Uzel

Cem Uzel is an associate in the litigation team. He specialises in dispute resolution and employment law. He is involved in conducting due diligence and providing legal assistance to companies in their day-to-day operations. He also specialises in disputes relating to bankruptcy, insurance , commercial claims, employment and real estate. Cem assists clients in managing the termination processes of senior white-collar executives and developing their human resources policies. Cem's practice also includes commercial disputes, contract negotiation and litigation arising from contractual relations. Cem graduated from the Faculty of Law of Istanbul Bilgi University . During his university studies, Cem studied as an exchange student at the Faculty of Law of the Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3. Cem has been a member of the Istanbul Bar since 2019.

Bülent Özdirekcan

Bülent Özdirekcan is a partner in the Corporate / Mergers & Acquisitions team of Özdirekcan Dündar Şenocak, Gide's affiliate in Türkiye. He specialises in corporate, mergers & acquisition and restructuring operations for listed and non-listed companies with private or public capital, particularly in the automotive, banking & insurance, energy and real estate sectors. He advises major local and foreign companies on their investments in Türkiye, particularly in the automotive, banking and insurance, energy and real estate sectors. He also handles all tax aspects of the above transactions, including those relating to foreign financing. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Franco-Turkish Chamber of Commerce in Turkey since 2012. He has advised numerous companies, notably French, Korean and Chinese, in the creation of joint ventures with Turkish partners in Turkey. He has also assisted such companies with restructuring and tax issues in Turkey. Bülent is a graduate of the Université Paris Val-de-Marne, the Université Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, the Université Paris Panthéon-Assas and Istanbul University. He was admitted to the Paris Bar in 1998 and to the Istanbul Bar in 2003.

Ozan Ünal

Ozan Ünal is an associate in the Intellectual Property team. He specialises in commercial, civil and criminal law. He assists the intellectual property team in the seizure and destruction of counterfeit products throughout Turkey on behalf of major multinational companies. Ozan helps with the problems arising from the unfair use of trademarks belonging to international companies. Police raids and seizure of counterfeit goods throughout Turkey and filing lawsuits before criminal courts on behalf of international companies operating in various sectors such as luxury goods, perfume and cosmetics, textiles, and car parts. Ozan worked for 2 years in a law firm providing advice on business law and commercial matters, he also worked as a legal consultant in one of Turkey's largest media companies for almost 3 years. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Bahcesehir University. Ozan has been a member of the Istanbul Bar Association since 2017.

Arpat Şenocak

Arpat Şenocak is a Partner in Gide's Corporate/M&A team and its Turkish affiliate Özdirekcan Dündar Şenocak Ak. He specialises in mergers and acquisitions and investment structuring. His activities cover mergers and acquisitions and investment structuring. He has been advising Turkish and international clients for over 20 years in various sectors such as financial services, technology and industry. Arpat recently assisted AXA in its takeover of Groupama's insurance business in Turkey, IBM in its acquisition of Software AG's StreamSets and webMethods platforms, Believe in its acquisition of DMC Music from the Turkish group Dogan and Carel in its acquisition of sole control of CFM Sogutma. Arpat is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Neuchâtel and holds an equivalence diploma from the Faculty of Law at Istanbul University. Arpat is also President of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey. He has been a member of the Neuchâtel Bar since 2003 and of the Istanbul Bar since 2008.