Erçin Bilgin Bektasoglu

Erçin Bilgin Bektaşoğlu Law Firm was established in August 2006 by the three name partners, Feyzi Erçin, Burcu Çelikçapa-Bilgin and Dilek Bektaşoğlu-Sanlı. At the time it was founded, the Firm consisted of three partners, three associates and a trainee. In its nineteenth year, the Firm has more than doubled in size and now has four partners, twelve associates and four trainees. Erçin Bilgin Bektaşoğlu was established in August 2006 as a niche transport and insurance law firm. Since then, the Firm has expanded steadily. The focus of the Firm remains transport and insurance, but in time, all subsections of these two major areas are also covered and the experience consistently increases. All fee earners speak fluent English. One of the partners and three of the associates are also fluent in German, as we have a large German clientele. Our offices are conveniently located in Taksim, the centre of Istanbul.

Erçin Bilgin Bektaşoğlu is a firm renowned for its expertise on transport and insurance matters. In the 2025 edition of the Legal 500 the Firm has been praised as “Erçin Bilgin Bektasoglu is good at understanding their clients' objectives so when a dispute arises they not only give comprehensive legal advice but build that into an actionable dispute resolution strategy.”; “The team is familiar with our industry standards and understands our expectations.”; “They are technical to speak about the law and understand the need to be clear in the procedural steps and the merits of the case.”; “We can contact them in emergency case and get reasonable replies. Also we feel transparency and trust during our communication.”; and “Their opinion was given on time and was very clear.”

On the shipping side, all partners have extensive experience in dry and wet shipping work. The Firm advises on charterparties, bills of lading and related disputes. Partners handle casualty work on behalf of major P&I Clubs, defending significant administrative and third-party claims. The Firm is regularly instructed in the investigation and handling of major marine casualties, involving fire and explosions, grounding, collisions, oil spills, salvage and general average. Transport and logistics department provides legal assistance on contentious and noncontentious matters to both customers and suppliers of the logistics sector. The Firm advises on the structuring and management of carriage by road, multimodal transport, warehousing and terminal operation contracts. Our client profile includes local and international freight forwarders, warehouse operators, port and terminal operators, transport liability insurers, road and rail carriers and corporate clients who operate supply chains. In the 2025 edition of The Legal 500, the Firm was praised as follows: "They are good at both insurance and marine transport. We mainly work with them for complex and major cases for recovery or litigation." In the 2024 edition, it was noted: "In addition to an excellent understanding of Turkish maritime law, the team at Erçin Bilgin Bektaşoğlu are commercially minded problem solvers.”

On the insurance law side, the Firm advice clients on (re)insurance law, by focusing on multiple coverage disputes arising from liability policies, D&O policies, BBB policies, construction all risks, fire policies, property damage policies, product recall and earthquake damages. The Firm is being instructed by both Turkish insurers, foreign reinsurers as well as foreign law firms on both contentious and non-contentious matters. In the 2025 edition of The Legal 500, the Firm was praised as "Deep knowledge and experience in insurance law. Good international network for cross-border cases."; "They provide very detailed analyses. They analyse the pros and cons in detail. They are very good at insurance law."; "They do have a knowledge in the insurance especially on commercial line of business. They closely follow the cases with every aspect. They are reachable at every level."; and "The Team is fantastic, not only Dilek Bektaşoğlu Sanlı, but also the other associates and partners who we worked with. Their insurance law/practice knowledge is the element that makes them trustworthy and easy to work with. Their quick response and we know they are willing to assist when required."

Aviation is another area that Erçin Bilgin Bektaşoğlu is renowned for. The work undertaken covers casualty work, personal injury, cargo claims, regulatory advice, commercial contracts and insurance. Feyzi Erçin leads the aviation team and works very closely with foreign leading law firms specialising in aviation law. The Firm has also seen a significant increase in instructions related to multimodal transport and other logistics services. In the 2025 edition of The Legal 500, the Firm was praised as "Feyzi Erçin and his fantastic team can assist clients on any aviation-related matter in Turkiye. They are extremely knowledgeable and very responsible." and "Feyzi Erçin is our go-to lawyer when it comes to aviation-related instructions requiring assistance in Turkiye."

The Firm is also known as a litigating firm and over the years. The dispute resolution practice has increased in number and variety of cases. The Firm’s litigation experience ranges from transport to high profile banking frauds, international trade and product liability claims. The involvement extends to mediation, domestic and international arbitration.

Erçin Bilgin Bektaşoğlu also has significant expertise in advising foreign buyers, banks and shipyards on shipbuilding, ship sale and securities. Dilek Bektaşoğlu-Sanlı regularly advises banks and financial institutions in all aspects of ship finance and project finance. The finance team, led by her, is continuously involved in major restructuring work and advises leading international banks on the financing of new vessels and yachts.

Erçin Bilgin Bektaşoğlu advises foreign-based clients on develop strategies for operating in Turkey under the suitable corporate structures and assists them in establishing companies, branches and liaison offices in Turkey, operation of such enterprises and corporate governance issues. Burcu Çelikçapa-Bilgin leads the corporate practice. The Firm is also advising in all aspects of Turkish labour and employment law, particularly in negotiating and drafting employment contracts, assisting human resource professional on a wide range of employment issues.

The Firm also advises on drafting and negotiation of all types of commercial agreements including agency agreements, terms and conditions for supply of goods and service arrangements. Burcu Çelikçapa-Bilgin has significant experience in advising on Turkish procurement law, especially in the context of large projects in the defence industry. Energy law is another developing focus of the Firm.