Legal director | Emaar Turkey
Hüseyin Topuzoğlu
Legal director | Emaar Turkey
Legal director | Alliance Healthcare
A zoning plan amendment has been completed successfully in cooperation with the local and metropolitan municipality to obtain occupancy permit for all residences, office buildings and the mall located at Emaar Square Project. All tenant and real estate sale contracts have been adjusted in line with the regulation aiming of protecting the value of Turkish currency, where the regulation determines and sets forth the regulatory and restrictive principles regarding the determination of the value of Turkish currency against foreign currencies lease and real estate contracts, and other transactions related to foreign exchange and instruments denominated in foreign exchange. Significant support has been given to Project and Development Department regarding the amendment of the multimillion dollar construction agreement against the contractor regarding the scope of work of the contractor’s services. I am also managing a crucial lawsuit filed against a contractor who breached payment obligations to Emaar. While Emaar is suing the contractor, Emaar is also facing lawsuits filed against by the contractor’s customers due to contractor’s breach against its customers.
The uncertainty surrounding trade relations remains a barrier to investment and stability in the world economy. Despite this fact, Emaar is projecting to finalise ongoing projects and constructions at Emaar Square Project. So in these dates, details of every transaction, speed by meeting the deadlines, preparing the business ready against upcoming legislations and working shoulder to shoulder by staying relative to all departments with positive attitude will be way of working to assist to the business by the legal department in the next 12 months. Emaar perspective and service standards to its customer will be the guide by making sure that the company will stay on the track safely legal wise by controlling and optimising the legal costs as well.
This requires both legal knowledge and experience and also understanding business targets and needs. In house lawyers, should have strong legal knowledge and apply it to business needs to enable them reach their targets. To do this, legal department should work shoulder to shoulder with each function of the business and create an impression that legal department not only advises the legal perspective of the transactions but also bring up another perspective which helps the business to reach their targets in a simple, efficient and cost effective way.
The decree on protecting the value of Turkish currency has greatly impacted our business. The decree regulated the sales and rental contracts of moveable and immovable properties made in foreign currencies to be converted into Turkish Lira.
In-house counsel should already be experts in the company’s core business inside out who also oversee the risk management and corporate governance issues. When the issue is over capacity or a special legal issue of expertise arises, then in house counsel will need support. I guess the most effective way is to explain the issue in every detail, share your perspective and expectation. Create an environment where they can challenge you to find the right strategy. If the external counsel do not understand the things in your mind or your approach or the result, they will be just doer instead of supporting you to find the right legal strategy and arguments.
What changes in education at law schools can help lawyers and corporate counsel in the future?
Working as an in-house counsel for multinational companies for many years, I must say that I am lucky since each company has respected my views and decisions. I was aware that although we, as lawyers are respected, the expectation from us was up to a point without contributing more to decision-making. This is normal as everybody in the company thinks that our expertise area is limited to law. Indeed, this is my starting point of the problem and really, is that the way should be? The problem starts with the education system.
I have studied law both in Turkey and the US and had a chance to compare the two education systems. I noticed that neither provide classes which in my view should be given as standard. The first should be “how to advise”. At law schools, we are bogged down with laws, regulations, how to apply them to the events and what the law should be. But we are never trained about how we should provide our advice and thoughts to third parties. There should be a discipline which should be thought of as a class in the law schools with this topic. In the end, it is not how much we know or good at what we do but it is about how we market our selves and provide good advise to third parties which understands us. This way, lawyers who are trained about advising will help misunderstandings and the complaints third parties are generally saying about us, which is, they do not understand anything since lawyers are talking in a complicated and technical way.
The second class should be about business and finance. I am not suggesting we become professionals in these disciplines, but in my experience I’ve learned that lawyers well-equipped in these fields contribute a lot to right decision-making for the good of the company. As of now, due to lack of knowledge and experience in these fields, lawyers contributions to decision-making is limited, which can downgrade our level of respect in corporate life.
In light of the above facts, in my ideal future career life, law schools will provide “how to advise” and “business and finance” classes in their curriculum. I am sure that future lawyers who are loaded with these classes will help a lot in contribution to express themselves better to anybody who seek advise from them and also contribute and be respected more in decision-making for the counsel who work in-house for these companies.
