Serhat Aydın, Managing Partner
Managing Partner Serhat Aydın of Aydın Law discusses how the firm’s dynamic and agile energy practice supports clients navigating an increasingly complex and fast-moving industry.
What do you see as the main points that differentiate Aydın Law from your competitors?
A key differentiator of Aydın Law is the depth of our industry-specific expertise in the energy sector. The firm was founded with a clear focus on sector knowledge, and this foundation enables us to engage with legal issues in a manner that goes well beyond conventional legal analysis. Our team combines extensive regulatory, transactional and project experience with a granular understanding of how the Turkish energy market operates in practice. This allows us not only to interpret the legal framework, but also to understand the commercial dynamics that shape the sector and the strategic considerations that drive our clients’ decisions.
Equally important is the economic and financial perspective we bring to our legal work. We place particular emphasis on financial literacy and on the ability to analyze the economic implications of legal structures. As counsel, we do not approach a mandate as purely legal exercise; we are able to assess how each task we undertake interacts with the broader economic architecture of a transaction or project. This enables us to distinguish the economic consequences of legal decisions and to provide advice that speaks directly to the financial logic, risk allocation and value drivers of our clients’ businesses. In this sense, our work goes beyond traditional legal advisory and often contributes to shaping the commercial outcome of a matter.
Aydın Law deliberately operates as a highly specialized boutique. Rather than attempting to cover a broad range of practice areas, we have chosen to focus on a sector where we can offer exceptional depth of expertise. This “chef’s table” approach allows us to remain closely involved in the substance of every mandate, maintain strong and trusted client relationships, and deliver consistently sophisticated, partner-led advice on matters that sit at the very core of our clients’ businesses.
Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?
We expect the capital markets practice to see notable growth over the next 12 months. Financing methods are becoming increasingly diversified, and there is visible momentum in Turkish capital markets, with many companies seeking to raise both domestic and international capital through IPOs and bond issuances rather than relying solely on traditional bank financing.
Another notable development is the growing use of private equity investment funds (GSYF structures) for project specific or portfolio investments. Driven in part by their tax advantages and structural flexibility, these funds are increasingly being used in a wider range of transactions and investment schemes.
In response to these developments, we intend to further strengthen our capabilities in this area and incorporate capital markets work as a permanent element of the firm’s repertoire of services.
What's the main change you've made in the firm that will benefit clients?
The main change we have implemented in the firm is strengthening the way we respond to client needs that fall outside our core practice areas. As a boutique law firm operating in a very specific jurisdiction and focusing on specialised sectors such as energy, infrastructure, natural resources and sustainability, we sometimes receive requests from existing or prospective clients that goes beyond our immediate expertise.
In such cases, we rely on well-established global networks and alliances through which we can connect with trusted colleagues who specialise in those areas. This enables us to ensure that our clients still receive top-tier legal services, while maintaining an efficient fee structure and a coordinated working relationship with the relevant experts.
In addition, our team includes prominent academics, which allows us to easily access leading scholars and verify complex legal issues when needed. This provides us with an additional layer of confidence in the legal analysis we deliver, without the delays that can sometimes arise when seeking external opinions.
Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?
Yes, technology is significantly changing the way we interact with clients and deliver our services. We have developed an internal application that helps streamline several tasks that would traditionally be handled at a more junior level. Together with the effective and visible deployment of AI tools, this allows us to handle certain processes more efficiently and reduce the amount of time that would otherwise be charged to the client, resulting in more efficient billing.
In addition, we have developed an in-house software system to support the administrative management of the office. This platform allows us to track down and record time spent for each task much more accurately, manage workflows more effectively and monitor the progress of ongoing assignments in real time. As a result, we can quickly identify any inefficiencies in the execution of a task and address them promptly, which ultimately improves both the quality and efficiency of the services we provide to our clients.
Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?
One practical example would be our work on the USD 596 million Balıkesir Cell Factory investment, where we advised Astronergy Yüksek Teknoloji in connection with the establishment of a large-scale solar cell and wafer manufacturing facility in Balıkesir and the entry of Alfa Solar as a 50% shareholder in a strategic joint venture setting.
Our role extended well beyond the preparation of standard transaction documentation. We led the structuring and negotiation of the entire legal framework of the joint venture, including the shareholders’ agreement and the share subscription arrangements. In addition, we prepared and negotiated a comprehensive set of transaction documents designed to regulate the commercial and operational relationship between the parties from the early stages of the project. These included, among others, a Service Agreement, a Master Supply Agreement and a pre-incorporation expense protocol governing the allocation and reimbursement of project costs prior to the establishment of the joint venture, together with a wide range of ancillary agreements forming part of the broader investment framework.
We also managed the full set of corporate steps required for Alfa Solar’s participation through a capital increase, including the preparation of general assembly resolutions, amendments to the articles of association and all related corporate and regulatory filings. In parallel, we coordinated the legal workstreams relating to the HIT-30 incentive process and successfully guided the parties through the Competition Authority approval process. In addition, we played an active role in the preparation of the project’s funding plan and technical specifications, assisting the parties not only from a legal standpoint but also in structuring and consolidating the technical and financial documentation required for the investment. In practice, our team was closely involved in compiling and structuring even highly technical aspects of the project documentation to ensure consistency between the legal framework and the operational and financial parameters of the investment.
One of the most challenging aspects of the transaction was navigating the cultural and commercial differences between the parties in what was a highly complex, multi-layered negotiation process involving numerous technical, financial and operational considerations. We made a conscious effort to bridge these differences and to maintain a constructive and solution-oriented negotiation environment throughout the process.
Our experience in complex investment negotiations proved particularly valuable in stabilising the process and enabling the parties to move forward with the project. Within very tight timeframes, our team was able to resolve several potential deadlocks by combining analytical problem-solving, strong persuasion skills and the ability to develop creative yet practicable solutions that addressed both the legal and commercial concerns of the parties.
The value created through this process was also recognized by the parties themselves. Following the establishment of the joint venture, I was exclusively invited to serve as an independent member of the board of directors of the company. This assignment reflected not only the level of trust built during the transaction but also the strategic role our team played in shaping the structure and governance of the investment. Our involvement throughout the process went beyond traditional legal advisory, contributing directly to the successful alignment of the parties and the long-term institutional framework of the joint venture.
Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms - where do you see the firm in three years’ time?
Yes, clients are increasingly looking to their law firms not only for legal advice but also for stability, strategic direction and long-term partnership. In specialized sectors such as energy, infrastructure and sustainability, clients value advisors who understand the commercial and regulatory landscape and can guide them through complex and evolving projects. Over the next three years, we see our firm further consolidating its position in the energy practice and achieving Tier 1 recognition in global legal directories. At the same time, if our path crosses with like-minded colleagues who share our vision and professional values, we would be open to pursuing inorganic growth opportunities that would allow us to project the same level of strength and expertise into growth areas and diverse practices. This would help us accelerate our broader long-term ambition of evolving into a full-service international law firm. While this is naturally a gradual process, we believe that within the next decade we can significantly shorten the distance to that goal by continuing to build a strong, specialized and internationally connected practice.