About

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years?

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with companies that specialised in consultancy, tobacco, medicine, fast-moving consumer goods and retail. I believe that working in different areas of expertise and various fields grants in-house lawyers an abundance of relevant experience. I have been fortunate enough to provide legal support to global and local corporations’ different affiliates in different countries.

Even though regulations and conflicts in these fields and countries differ from one another, I believe that they have allowed me to attain valuable information that I use in my professional life every day. The know-how I have acquired has enabled me to develop a productive and effective perspective which helps with interpreting certain events and situations.

I can say that the processes that had the most impact, provided professional satisfaction and ended up having huge success for myself and the companies I was affiliated with were generally corporate and commercial cases that I was involved in as a legal partner. I enjoy working on cross-functional processes, conflict management and projects which entails working with several business departments and partners as well as on legal negotiations and proceedings.

What have been the major external trends that have impacted your team’s work over the past two years (market developments, changing regulatory environment, political events etc.)?

Lately, digitalisation and data protection have been among the major trends in the legal world. Accordingly, I believe that legal counsel, in close alignment with the business, should actively participate in and support the implementation of initiatives and identify improvement potential to ensure efficient legal and compliance processes. In a living and ever-evolving world, it is important to remember that legal services and the perspective that is provided by lawyers must also keep improving and evolving at all times.

Additionally, given our country’s volatile economy and the recent currency fluctuations, it is of utmost importance for an in-house lawyer that company risks and actions are foreseen and that the necessary steps are taken with regard to these factors.

What will be the main focus for the company in the next 12 months and how do you intend to assist with this?

Regardless of what the company policies or strategies are, it is my belief that in order to ensure the healthy and legal realisation of company policies, in-house lawyers must conduct their work in an agile and harmonious manner. Only then can an effective and successful legal service be provided.

What techniques do you use to provide commercially-focused and optimal business advice to your company? If so, how do you get these across to more junior lawyers in the team?

Our top priority is to ensure that legal requirements are met, however, we are also aware of the fact that we are part of a company, and we provide integrated legal support to enable the company as well as protect it. We are involved in processes and projects at the outset. This brings about the advantage of being part of the processes before conflicts occur which helps us solve most of the cases proactively. I tell my team members to have a strong command of our common goals, the needs and inner workings of different departments, and I support them in this task. I believe that the strong relationship and communication between team members adds to the work’s efficiency and quality. I am of the opinion that business partners who are aware of one another’s needs and are united toward one goal can deliver more successful results.

I am also a member of the company’s Turkey leadership team. In this way, we are strongly aware and a part of the company priorities and strategy at the outset and determine the legal support to be provided in alignment with it.

Does the team use any “legal tech” products and do you find them a helpful management device?

E-signature procedures and contract management systems are the main technologies that the legal team uses to simplify legal processes.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role in evolving in your region over the next few years?

In Turkey, the notion of in-house legal support is still very young, going back only 30 years. In-house legal support came into our country through foreign investments made by international companies with well-established corporate identities, and these investments played a significant role in changing the concept of law practice in Turkey.

Throughout its history, whether it be economically or legally, Turkey went through eminently tumultuous times, and underwent many changes in short periods of time. In such a volatile environment, in-house legal departments should be knowledgeable about the legal and economic landscape and should be part of the business to assess and calculate legal risk as per different business scenarios, with a strong collaboration and business acumen led approach. I believe that the existing state of affairs may very well test the adaptability skills of in-house lawyers to their limits.

FOCUS ON: Teamwork

Teamwork is essential for success.Trust and teamwork are essential to building a successful work environment. Team members trusting each other and knowing that all contributions are welcomed and valued results in a highly productive and efficient workplace. With such strong communication and collaboration, we can recognise the priorities of the company, form a team at the outset and determine the required legal support.

An in-house legal department’s role is to support the business by assessing and monitoring legal risk as per different business scenarios, and to do so with air-tight collaboration and a business acumen led approach. As a member of a legal team, it is essential to maintain expertise in substantive risk areas and regulations. Furthermore, an intricate knowledge with respect to the business activities in markets is crucial to ensuring that we can deliver legal advice with regard to commercial as well as legal needs.