Team size: Eight

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

As a result of the economically and politically fast-paced environment, organisations have started to reconsider their business models, looking at opportunities to restructure more than ever. Consequently, building up a new range of strategies has been inevitable for companies, such as re-determining supply/demand strategies, selling assets or liquidating subsidiaries to raise capital and create liquidity. While implementing these transactions, following specific regulatory rules and control mechanisms over cross-border investments without having any adverse effect was not as easy as the business’s nature. The combination of these dynamics has created challenges for legal organisations since the different complexities in the operations require adopting agility and resilience quickly to achieve the goals companies would target.

In your opinion, what areas should in-house lawyers focus on over the next few years to prove value to their organisations in Türkiye?

In a rapidly and digitally changing world, the traditional operating model of the in-house legal function is always under radar and controversial. Cost pressures, regulatory overload and innovation-based opportunities to enhance operational efficiency are the elements disrupting in-house counsel’s way of delivering their services. The role of the general counsel has also evolved to become a business partner supporting the company, involved in the strategic decision-making process from legal perspectives and assisting in complex challenges to meet business and legal goals. Therefore, in the next few years, rather than focusing on a specific area, I believe in-house counsel and legal departments should adopt a new perspective on strategic business thinking and focus on risk anticipation and prevention more than risk remedies, which bring extra time and effort waste. However, if I should address an area to focus on, that would be regulatory engagement since the regulators can significantly impact businesses. New rules and regimes create opportunities; subsequent interpretations can create liabilities. It is important for organisations to engage early in these processes and to benefit from legislation to optimise their commercial positions.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

Legal departments usually tend to have stable organisational structures. Job rotations are not standard practices, even though they allow lawyers to contribute to the organisation in different ways and stretch their talents. Another purpose of job rotations is to ensure a continuous talent stream for succession. Considering the risks and opportunities after one year of an in-depth assessment of our way of working, I have implemented a new organisational structure in the legal department to increase the efficiency of our processes and workflows, strengthen our corporate memory and optimise our manpower effectiveness. In the new organisation, all job descriptions have been designed in such a way that all team members would take an active and hybrid role in different divisions of the department, including contractual, dispute management, corporate governance and operational processes from end to end, in line with the needs of the company which also served our internal back-up system in terms of know-how management.