Gurulkan Çakir Attorney Partnership > Istanbul, Turkey > Firm Profile

Gurulkan Çakir Attorney Partnership > Firm Profile

Gurulkan Çakır Günay is an approachable, boutique law firm providing extensive legal services and guidance to international and domestic clients particularly in corporate and commercial matters.

Gurulkan Çakır Günay was established in 2011 and was initially known as “Gurulkan Law Firm”. The firm was later turned into a partnership named “Gurulkan Çakır Attorney Partnership” in 2015 and the firm’s name was eventually changed to “Gurulkan Çakır Günay Attorney Partnership” in 2023. The firm is primarily based in the city of Istanbul, and has strong presence in Europe and the Middle East.

The firm embarked on a journey to carve out a niche in the market by delivering legal and advisory services both in Türkiye and abroad providing legal support at corporate level for international corporations with increasing activity in the EMEA region. The main focus of the firm’s practice is on banking and finance, corporate law, commercial law, investment, maritime law, insurance law, transport law, employment law and litigation. The firm was created to better serve foreign investors in the corporate and commercial arena, striving to deliver high-quality legal services with a global approach.

While banking and finance constitutes an important share of the firm’s expertise, clientele consists of a broad array of corporate clients from various sectors such as oil, construction, shipping, insurance, iron and steel, medical, etc. Major clients include the top two largest Turkish banks, the second largest Turkish construction company, and a top-50 American contractor working abroad. Apart from above, corporate setup has been an important part of the firm’s core expertise since the inception in 2011. The firm has handled hundreds of company/branch establishment process, on behalf of corporate and individual clients from every corner of the globe including Europe, Americas, and the Middle East.

Gurulkan Çakır Günay has continuously grown and expanded over the years and currently seven lawyers and counsels are working for the firm. All of the members of the team are capable of providing services in English. The firm is an active member of various international and domestic business and legal communities.

Practice areas
Banking and finance: Ever since Gurulkan Çakır Günay’s establishment, the firm has been continuously acting for a number of banks on every aspect of banking transactions, working on complex arrangements in their domestic and overseas operations. The team regularly provides both expert and solution-focused advice to Turkish and international banks on all aspects of banking law and the regulation affecting their businesses. Team members work closely with colleagues in other jurisdictions on cross-border financial services issues and impact of global reforms.

Corporate and M&A: Gurulkan Çakır Günay exercise all aspects of corporate and M&A, including company takeovers, mergers, demergers, share and asset acquisitions and disposals, private equity and venture capital investments and exits as well as local and cross-border joint ventures. Our extensive corporate expertise and industry knowledge allow us to think creatively about complicated business issues and give clear, precise, and practical guidance to assist clients, helping them make sound business decisions. The firm’s lawyers advise on general matters of corporate law, which arise from running or investing in companies and other business ventures, and our legal practice includes providing advice on all aspects of the management of both private and public companies.

Commercial: Gurulkan Çakır Günay has extensive knowledge of and profound experience in drafting the optimum terms of commercial contracts and adapting them to the sector-specific conditions as well as the particular challenges encountered in certain projects. The firm also has the competence to advise on all aspects of e-commerce including payment services, regulatory compliance, consumer terms, privacy policies, website terms, advertising and marketing, and online marketplace structures. Gurulkan Çakır help to minimize the risks of potential liability related to online stores, online promotions, and social media platforms.

Capital markets: Gurulkan Çakır Günay has a profound expertise and knowledge in Turkish capital market regulations, and persistently follow the legislative trends both inside and outside EU. The firm provides assistance and advice to issuers, bidders and advisors with regard to flotations and IPOs as well as the purchase of financial instruments. Furthermore, Gurulkan Çakır advise banks, investment management and asset management companies in relation to investment services and collective undertakings. Our capital markets expertise includes capital increases, bond issues, initial public offerings and the structuring of investments as well as crowdfunding activities.

Energy: Gurulkan Çakır Günay provides a first-class legal service with an in-depth knowledge of the local regulatory law as well as the dynamics of the international business and transactions in the energy sector. The firm’s lawyers have a strong competency in addressing and effectively solving the intricate problems encountered by the clients in the continuum of their operations in the area of energy and natural resources. The firm provides commercially effective and impeccable solutions to our clients at every phase of their projects, as well as in every subsector of the area of energy such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal energy, hydro-electric power, bio-fuels, electricity, natural gas, and all types of renewable energy resources.

Employment: Gurulkan Çakır Günay help its clients build and maintain perdurable relationships with individuals. The team draw up employment contracts, remuneration terms, policies and restrictions aimed to protect business interests. Gurulkan Çakır Günay provides strategic planning and detailed practical assistance in implementing the termination of employment and other methods used to terminate employment relationships such as settlement agreements, and on compensation rights. The firm also represents clients in all aspects of employment disputes at labour courts in Türkiye, providing effective services in resolution of disputes through litigation, negotiation or mediation.

Intellectual property: Gurulkan Çakır Günay provides a full range of professional services in the protection, management and enforcement of all types of intellectual property rights including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, industrial designs, and domain names. We assist our clients in negotiating, drafting and revising all types of contracts involving intellectual property, such as agreements for transfer of technology, know-how and technical assistance, license agreements, assignment of rights and service provision agreements. The firm represents clients in enforcing their IP rights before the administrative agencies as well as the courts.

Information technology: Gurulkan Çakır Günay assists its clients develop their businesses by undertaking the regulatory challenges arising from data processing activities, such as collection, retention and transfer of personal data. The firm also provides legal services for businesses who wish to expand to e-commerce sector, regardless of the size of their company. From small and medium-sized enterprises to big companies selling all kinds of products – tangible or non-tangible – we ensure that our clients comply with all national and international regulations concerning e-commerce and related fields of law, such as consumer law, e-payment regulations and internet law.

Litigation and ADR: Gurulkan Çakır Günay represent corporate and individual clients in all types of civil and commercial proceedings, as well as appeals, at all phases and instances before Turkish courts. Our approach is to deliver practical solutions that will minimize the cost and maximize the efficient handling of the dispute and ensure the best outcome for the clients’ business. The firm’s team regularly acts for clients in the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments as well as international arbitral awards before Turkish courts. The firm also embraces alternative dispute resolution methods to help clients avoid lengthy litigation proceedings. The firm’s specialists get the most out of ADR by preserving business relationships wherever possible through mediated settlements.

Maritime: Gurulkan Çakır Günay’s maritime law practice focuses on contractual and transactional matters as well as litigation at admiralty courts in Türkiye. The firm has the ability to represent clients from every corner of maritime industry, including domestic and international shipping companies, operators, carriers, charterers, salvage companies, shipyards, insurers and stevedores. We work to ensure that our clients’ maritime projects are negotiated, structured and documented with utmost care and that maritime disputes are resolved swiftly and effectively. Gurulkan Çakır Günay is involved in all aspects of asset financing for clients in the shipping industry. Our advice covers a wide spectrum of transactional work including ship sale and purchase, and ship construction.

Insurance: Gurulkan Çakır Günay advises insurers, reinsurers, brokers and policyholders on all aspects of insurance matters, whether corporate, regulatory or contentious claims. The firm handles claims across every line of insurance and reinsurance business, from the smallest claim to the largest and most complex loss. Our professionals have the ability to advise insurance and reinsurance companies on a wide spectrum of matters, particularly in drafting insurance policies, resolving policy wording disputes, indemnity issues and matters regarding breach of condition.

Transportation: Gurulkan Çakır Günay specialises in commercial transportation matters involving domestic and international carriage of goods by road, sea, air or rail. The firm’s attorneys have in-depth knowledge and broad experience in serving the changing and dynamic fields of transportation and business logistics. The firm assist clients with a wide range of services including preparing and reviewing transportation contracts, logistics agreements, equipment leases, independent contractor agreements, shipping documents, and carrier interchange agreements.

Lawyer Profiles

Photo	Name	Position	Profile
	Mr Yasin Çakır	Partner	View Profile
	Dr Barış Günay	Partner	View Profile
	Mr Haluk Gurulkan	Managing Partner	View Profile
	Ms Ayşen Yaşar	Senior Associate	View Profile