Bener Law Office > Istanbul, Turkey > Firm Profile

Bener Law Office Offices

Bener Law Office
Büyükdere Cad. No: 193/4
34394 Levent, Istanbul
Turkey
Visit website 90 212 270 7050

Bener Law Office > The Legal 500 Rankings

Turkey > Compliance Tier 2

Oya Özarslan and Batuhan Şahmay jointly lead the team at Bener Law Office, known for handling a wide variety of mandates relating to foreign trade regimes, fraud investigations, and anti-money laundering compliance programs. Şahmay maintains an employment focused practice, regularly advising clients on the full range of due diligence and audit related mandates, while Özarslan is noted for her longstanding experience in compliance structures, particularly in relation to anti-corruption policies and ethical standards. Naz Ergörün Yazman primarily handles data protection compliance projects on a global scale, advising clients on data breach notifications to the Turkish Data Protection Authority.

Practice head(s):

Oya Özarslan; Batuhan Şahmay

Other key lawyers:

Naz Ergörün Yazman; Behiç Ateş Gülenç

Testimonials

‘The quality of service provided is high. They make quick and solution-oriented suggestions.’

‘The team consists of a good bunch of subject matter experts who have deep understanding of local legislation and the possible impact on our business. Collaboration within the group is great and you always have the sense that you’re in safe hands. They are very open to feedback and comments for improvements which they respond very quickly.’

‘We mainly work with Batuhan Şahmay and Naz Ergörün Yazman. We’re enjoying the advantages of working with highly valued professionals who have a very deep understanding of our industry, and who can interpret our business strategies and principals, creating a tailor-made consultation model.’

‘The team is good at tracking matters, updating themselves and communicating legal matters to the client in a way client would understand.’

‘Bener’s practice, under Batuhan Şahmay’s leadership, is delivering excellent employment litigation service. ’

‘It is a reliable firm that we have been working with for many years and fulfills its job in the best way. It has lawyers who have knowledge and experience in different legal issues.’

‘They present ideas by researching a subject down to the finest detail. They take care to answer every question of their customers in detail. Their return speed is good. ’

Key clients

Amazon

Unilever

Hempel

Mastercard

Philips

Versuni

Brita

Michael Page

Regus

Banvit BRF

Azelis

Randstad

Warner Music

Ricoh

Rollic Games

VKR Holding

Signify

Benetton

Glengo Lectra

İston İstanbul

Danaher

CMH

Schlumberger

Work highlights

  • Assisted BRF- Banvit with regards to data protection legislation and its implementation.
  • Advised a client on their registration with the Turkish Data Controller Registry, and conducted detailed work on the data inventory of the client.
  • Advised Philips’ on their global data protection documentation (including global privacy rules) in terms of Turkish data protection legislation.

Turkey > Employment Tier 2

Bener Law Office‘s ‘proactive and agile‘ employment law group works for large employers and unions alike, and clients call on the group for advice on a range of employment and social security law. The scope of advice given by the group runs the gamut from documentation to high-level investigations. Group head Batuhan Şahmay is highlighted for his 'extensive knowledge' and 'good organisational skills’, which are also key features of the group more generally.

Practice head(s):

Batuhan Şahmay

Testimonials

‘They are very proactive and agile.’

‘Batuhan Sahmay deals with every matter with a high level of diligence.’ 

‘The team is quite organised in terms of handling the topics. They are very good in managing expectations of the client. More than that they have in depth knowledge of their domains.’

‘Easy to reach and communicate with. Professional approach.’

‘Fast, proactive, and knowledgeable.’

‘A very organised team with advice that is easy to understand. The team is flexible and knowledgeable.’

‘Batuhan Şahmay is a gem in employment law in Turkey. He is good at explaining complex legal matters to clients with his extensive knowledge and good organisational skills.’

‘Batuhan Sahmay puts himself in the shoes of the client and responds in an effective and timely manner. I would, without any hesitation, would recommend him as the “go-to-person” for all employment legal advice in Turkey.’

Key clients

Amazon

Google

Unilever

Hempel

Mastercard

Philips

Ge Aerospace

Brita

Archroma

Cisco

Michael Page

Interpublic

Remote

Regus

Comac Medical

Uber

Western Union

Fedex

Bosch

Mitsubishi Electric

Visa

Paypal

Hitachi

British Council

Zynga

Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook)

Schlumberger

Panasonic

Johnson and Johnson

Klepierre

McAfee

Banvit BRF

IBM

ASK Chemicals

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

DLL Group

Air France

Lego

Azelis

Desmet Ballestra

Randstad

Warner Bros

Ricoh

Novozymes

Leica Microsystems

Rollic Games

Beckman

Danaher

Franke

Morgan Stanley

Intuitive Surgical

ASOS

Vmware

Viacom

Work highlights

  • Advising Unilever on all aspects of employment law (including both consultancy and litigation).
  • Advising Banvit BRF on day-to-day employment law matters including high level and complex matters.
  • Assisted a multinational consumer packaged goods company with collective bargaining negotiations.

Turkey > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 4

The team at Bener Law Office leverages the expertise of its team to advise domestic and multinational businesses across areas ranging from medical devices, financial services, chemicals and aviation to logistics, tech, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and energy, on a range of day-to-day and transactional matters. The group is jointly led by Bahar Ülgen Hasşerbetçi, who brings experience to IPOs, M&A and restructurings; M&A and regulatory specialist Eren Üçok; Onur Kordel, who brings over 25 years to the practice area; Cem Davutoğlu; and founder and managing partner Erim Bener.

Practice head(s):

Bahar Ülgen Hasşerbetçi; Eren Üçok; Onur Kordel; Cem Davutoğlu; Erim Bener

Testimonials

‘Availability, speed, solution oriented,  they focus on the client’s intention, are committed to the deadlines, with total flexibility to adapt the billing to the client’s needs and proposals.’

‘Fast, proactive, knowledgeable.’

Key clients

Mastercard

Michael Page

Philips Türkiye

Regus

Mitsubishi Electric

Hitachi

Schlumberger

Air France

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Azelis

Randstad

Ricoh

Intersport

Archroma

Rollic Games

Alfa Kimya shareholders

Alliance Healthcare and its subsidiaries

Astute Electronics

Diodes

Benetton

Korn Ferry

Indorama

Norma Turkey

NXP Semiconductors

Silgan

Satel Gayrimenkul

Fluidmaster

Museum of Illusions

Kron

Access World Turkey

Segmentify

Tarkett Aspen

Arpaş Pilotaj

DHL Group

DLL Group

Techno Design

Mighty Buildings

Nordmann Rassman

Lavanta Club House

Minianima Film (Animaj)

Leica Teknoloji

Work highlights

  • Advised DHL Group on the acquisition of MNG Kargo Yurtiçi ve Yurtdışı Taşımacılık Anonim Şirketi.
  • Advised Azelis Group on the acquisition of Aktaş Dış Ticaret’s business of supply and distribution of base oils, olefins, industrial oil additives and specialty components.
  • Advised the founder of Makronet on the sale of 100% of shares to Softline Group (an IT consulting company listed on London Stock Exchange).

Turkey > Intellectual property

Pelin Tırtıl and Burcu Göktan lead the IP team at Bener Law Office, which is experienced in advising on the enforcement and management of IP rights.

Bener Law Office > Firm Profile

The firm: Bener Law Office was founded by Erim Bener in 2001 and has grown to its current size through careful selection of partners, associates and support based on strong ethics, technical excellence and a business-minded approach. The firm’s growth has been driven by the needs of its clients, which include many leading international and local companies, as well as the opportunities in the market.

Around 70% of the firm’s clients are multinationals, and its core activities range from Turkish market entry all the way through to IPOs, high-profile M&A, privatisation projects and significant dispute resolution work.

Bener Law Office believes that in order to be successful in the long term, it must continue to differentiate itself both through consistent quality and increasing its offerings to clients in emerging fields. With this in mind, it is active in the PPP arena, having been involved in a high proportion of recent local IPOs and significant bond issues, as well a majority of the highest profile internet-based transactions to date.

Areas of practice: Bener Law Office is a full-service Turkish law firm with a strong international practice. Its results-oriented team provides superior quality counsel to local and multinational businesses and individuals across diverse practice areas and sectors.

Thorough understanding of complex, cross-cultural business environments has enabled Bener Law Office to develop a client base that includes many of the world’s leading corporations. Expertise is offered in local and regional business and financial markets, with the firm’s multilingual, multi-jurisdictional team specialising in the Turkish, Eastern European, Middle Eastern and Central Asian arenas.

Clients value the quality of the firm’s people, its successful track record and its in-depth market knowledge; the firm is proud to deliver the results that its clients want with the highest quality technical expertise and commercial pragmatism.

While it handles a wide variety of work for a diverse client base, Bener Law Office has particular strength in corporate and M&A, banking and finance, capital markets, dispute resolution, ecommerce, energy and mining, construction and real estate, as well as enjoying a market-leading position in corporate retainer, employment and immigration instructions.

Bener Law Office is the exclusive country member in several specialist global networks, including Interlex-Globalaw and Ius Laboris, the leading labour and employment law global alliance, with 2,500 lawyers specialising in all areas of law relating to human resources.

The firm also benefits from exclusive of counsels who are highly respected in their fields.

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Banking and finance Bahar Ülgen bahar.ulgen@bener.com
Capital markets Bahar Ülgen bahar.ulgen@bener.com
Mergers and acquisitions Onur Kordel onur.kordel@bener.com
Real estate and construction Onur Kordel onur.kordel@bener.com
Corporate Bahar Ülgen bahar.ulgen@bener.com
Corporate Eren Üçok eren.ucok@bener.com
Corporate retainer Pelin Tirtil pelin.tirtil@bener.com
Corporate retainer Batuhan Sahmay batuhan.sahmay@bener.com
Administrative Güzide Özbilen guzide.ozbilen@bener.com
Employment Maria Lianides Çelebi maria.celebi@bener.com
Employment Pelin Tirtil pelin.tirtil@bener.com
Employment Batuhan Sahmay batuhan.sahmay@bener.com
Corporate immigration Maria Lianides Çelebi maria.celebi@bener.com
Corporate immigration Tugçe Isikara tugce.isikara@bener.com
Privatisations, PPP and government contracts Onur Kordel onur.kordel@bener.com
Privatisations, PPP and government contracts Bahar Ülgen bahar.ulgen@bener.com
Energy and infrastructure Onur Kordel onur.kordel@bener.com
Mining and natural resources Onur Kordel onur.kordel@bener.com
IT and telecoms Bahar Ülgen bahar.ulgen@bener.com
Internet and ecommerce Bahar Ülgen bahar.ulgen@bener.com
Dispute Resolution Ramazan Yılmaz ramazan.yilmaz@bener.com
Dispute Resolution Serkan Kolay serkan.kolay@bener.com
Arbitration and enforcement Ramazan Yilmaz ramazan.yilmaz@bener.com
Arbitration and enforcement Güzide Özbilen guzide.ozbilen@bener.com

Languages

English
French
German
Spanish
Turkish

Memberships

Ius Laboris
ABIL
Globalaw
Interlex
Transparency International Turkey

International Capabilities


Bener law office is a full service Turkish law firm with international focus. Bener established an office in Amsterdam in 2018. This multi jurisdiction established presence gives us an advantage over local Turkish law firms and along with their membership of renowned global networks of independent law firms allows us to successfully compete with the international law firms on the ground in Turkey. Bener Law Office is the exclusive country member in several specialist global networks, including Interlex, Globalaw and Ius Laboris, the leading labour and employment law global alliance, with 2,500 lawyers specialising in all areas of law relating to human resources. We have one partner permanently based in our Amsterdam office. Our primary focus is to assist Turkish clients in the various stages of internationalisation and expanding their international activities in the Netherlands. 

Diversity


BENER WELCOMES

Bener Law Office takes equal employment opportunity and diversity in the workplace very seriously. We have a long-standing commitment towards equity, inclusion and equal employment opportunity with no regard to age, gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, and social background. Notably, %65 of our Senior Partners / Partners and %50 of other staff are female. In addition, our staff is inclusive of individuals with disabilities and individuals from ethnic minorities.

Our diversity and inclusion efforts will continue to focus on maintaining a just workplace for all our current and future employees. Our mission is to not only continue to keep a diverse environment, but to also set an example to others in Turkey to show that diversity in the workplace is a necessity for a healthy work environment and success.