
Hergüner Bilgen Üçer Attorney Partnership — Turkey
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About
- Hergüner Bilgen Üçer; Istanbul - Hergüner Bilgen Üçer; Turkey The firm: Founded in 1989, Hergüner Bilgen Üçer Attorney Partnership is one of the oldest, largest, and most well-established corporate law firms in Turkey. In spite of its size, the firm maintains a personalised attention to detail that its clients have come to expect. Among Turkish law firms with a global reach, the firm is one of the few that is truly local and full-service. This combination allows Hergüner to equally advise large multinational organisations, international financial institutions, private individuals, and local start-ups and has earned the firm its reputation for flexibility and innovation. ### Areas of practice Banking and finance: Hergüner represents IFIs, banks, corporations and other investment experts in all sorts of lending transactions including corporate lending, acquisition finance, and project finance. The team also handles acquisitions of financial institutions, cross-border Islamic finance transactions such as murabaha agreements and sukuk offerings, and advises on international compliance issues such as FATCA, Dodd-Frank, and international sanctions regimes in addition to local compliance issues. Commercial, corporate and M&A: for the last two decades Hergüner has been involved in the majority of significant Turkish M&A deals, and it is a pioneer in the development of corporate governance principles in Turkey. The firm is proud to have represented many international clients in Turkey during their initial entry into the market, through further acquisitions, and in some cases, their exit transactions, in addition to assisting these clients with corporate compliance matters throughout their entire operational life. Capital markets: Hergüner’s capital markets team represents investors and financial institutions in some of the most innovative securities transactions in the Turkish market. The team handles corporate bond issuances, sale/purchase transactions concerning the shares of the leading publicly held entities in Turkey, mandatory tender offer transactions, exemption applications, and equity-offering transactions. Real estate and construction: Hergüner advises the world’s leading international retailers, real estate funds and developers in transactions involving all forms of real estate from ports to urban regeneration. The team also specializes in sophisticated real estate litigation, arbitration and represents local and international developers and investors before civil courts, administrative courts, tax courts and arbitral tribunals. Competition: Hergüner’s competition team is led by a former state antitrust case manager and provides legal advice and assistance related to pre-investigations and investigations that have been initiated by the Competition Board, in addition to providing compliance training and programs and competition law due diligence services to clients. Dispute resolution: Hergüner’s dispute resolution team handles every type of dispute from complex litigation to international and domestic arbitration, as well as white collar investigations, administrative disputes, and mediation. The firm’s decades of experience includes commercial disputes, high profile administrative lawsuits, and criminal proceedings. Employment: Hergüner advises Turkish and international companies in all aspects of employment, from sensitive c-suite executive issues to contentious collective bargaining negotiations. The team advises our clients on their daily corporate needs as they relate to employment issues and provides legal assistance in the most complex, sensitive matters, resulting in innovative legal solutions. Data protection: Hergüner has extensive experience in data protection and cybersecurity matters, including data protection compliance projects and guiding clients through data protection legislation as it relates to any aspect of their business, as well as data transfer issues and handling data breach notifications. Members of the team, equipped with global and local data protection knowledge, are able to navigate client companies through redesigning or adapting their data protection programs, policies, and data transfer schemes to comply with Turkish data protection law. Energy and natural resources: from power plants to pipelines, Hergüner is a leader in the energy field, both in terms of innovative solutions to novel energy issues and benchmark international deals. The team has significant experience in mine financing, major cross-border oil and gas pipelines, and internationally funded generation facilities. Hergüner advises clients in all segments of the energy sector including traditional resources like oil and gas, mining, natural gas, coal, and nuclear, as well as renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, tidal, and geothermal, which can present novel and unique legal issues. IT and telecoms: Hergüner represents operators, agencies, investors and lenders in a range of regulatory and transactional matters covering everything from licensing and data protection to litigation. Intellectual property: the Hergüner team supports all aspects of IP law including patents, trade marks, utility models, industrial design, geographical signs, domain names, copyright, litigation and enforcement. Project finance/projects: from Ottoman-era concessions to modern PPPs, Hergüner effectively wrote the book on project finance, advising clients on some of the largest projects in Turkish history. Transport: from financing to operations, Hergüner represents sponsors, project companies, financial institutions, contractors and suppliers developing motorways, railways, ports and airports. Restructuring and insolvency: Hergüner represents local and international companies through both M&A-related insolvency and restructuring, as well as sensitive bankruptcy enforcement proceedings. Tax: from domestic structuring and authority disputes to multinational AD/CVD and safeguards cases, Hergüner advises local and international companies on all their tax issues. Media and entertainment: Hergüner advises major media sector projects, including regulatory, commercial, and transactional aspects of print, television and radio broadcasting. Global trade and customs: Hergüner has broad experience in investigations concerning import safeguard measures and anti-dumping made by the Imports General Directorate of the Ministry of Trade and acts as counsel to Turkish producers on the plaintiff side as well as to foreign exporters on the interested party side. Immigration and citizenship via investment: Hergüner’s citizenship acquisition team represents foreign individuals throughout the process of obtaining Turkish citizenship with our unique understanding and deep knowledge of the requirements and procedures necessary to become a citizen. White-collar and investigations: Our team has first-rate experience in dealing with government investigations and enforcement matters. Our lawyers have substantial experience in defending clients through all phases of investigations and with criminal and civil enforcement proceedings, having represented clients before the prosecutors and courts. ### Languages - English - French - German - Turkish - Japanese - Chinese ### Memberships - World Law Group - International Attorneys Club - International Bar Association - American Bar Association - US European Network - International Law Institute ### Staffing Figures - 91 Number of lawyers
Office locations
Istanbul
Istanbul
Hergüner Bilgen Üçer Attorney Partnership Büyükdere Caddesi 199 Levent 34394 Istanbul Turkey
Practice areas
Lawyers in this office
Ayşe Hergüner Bilgen
Ayşe Hergüner Bilgen is one of our firm’s founding partners and oversees our Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, and Employment & Labor practice groups. Ms. Hergüner Bilgen is one of the most well-respected names in Turkish litigation, and is known for her resolute composure and ability to develop practical real-world solutions for complex disputes. Her experience spanning a term of over forty years and her level of acquaintance with Turkish court procedures continuously prove to be a key asset during complex dispute proceedings touching upon multiple practice areas. Her experience also covers settlement proceedings occurring during and outside of court proceedings. She represents foreign and domestic clients who are confronting a wide range of legal issues, primarily involving commercial and administrative litigation, tax litigation, bankruptcy and enforcement, family disputes, labor disputes, as well as criminal investigation and defense. · Dispute Resolution
Deniz Tuncel
Deniz Tuncel is among the leaders in our Energy, M&A, and Data Protection practice groups. Mr. Tuncel has a personal affinity for Asia and was seconded to the cross border transactional practice of one of the most prestigious law firms in Japan. Mr. Tuncel has acted as lead Turkish counsel in some of the landmark M&A transactions that have occurred in Turkey in both regulated and non-regulated sectors. In addition to his M&A work, he also has decades of experience in energy infrastructure development projects where he has been involved in every phase of investments in the field of energy, from project development through the transfer of the investment or decommissioning. His insight into the regulatory framework governing the energy market and its environmental impact makes a substantial difference. Some of his work included one of Turkey’s largest cross-border asset swap deals involving a vertically integrated power generation and distribution group, the sale of the Turkish business of a major international oil and gas company to another, and representation of the project company in what will ultimately be the largest cross border natural gas pipeline in the region. · Corporate / M&A
Kayra Üçer
Mr. Üçer is a partner in the M&A and Corporate Support, Competition, Compliance, and Data Protection practice groups of Hergüner Bilgen Özeke. He most frequently represents foreign clients entering or exiting the Turkish market and local subsidiaries of foreign multinationals. His practice focuses primarily on share transfers occurring in regulated markets, capital markets, and wealth management. In addition to his transactional work, Mr. Üçer provides advice in the fields of executive-level labor law, compliance with the data protection regulations, and anti-corruption compliance concerns. · Corporate / M&A
M. Mert Oğuzülgen
Mert Oğuzülgen is one of the leaders in our M&A practice group. Mr. Oğuzülgen is known for his role in many of the major M&A transactions that have taken place in Turkey over the last two decades, including landmark transactions in regulated markets as well as in the e-commerce sector. In addition to his experience in traditional M&A work, Mr. Oğuzülgen also specializes in private equity and venture capital. The breadth of his experience puts him in a great position to assume a leadership role in M&A transactions requiring multiple layers of complexity, such as those involving capital markets aspects, private equity perspectives, or regulated markets. · Corporate / M&A
Nazım O. Kurt
Nazım O. Kurt is among the partners of our Real Estate practice group. Mr. Kurt has a strong reputation in the real estate market for his unique ability to apply his experience in dispute resolution to structure deals with a view towards minimizing potential exposure. Mr. Kurt represents local commercial developers and international investors both in deal structuring and in court, and he has extensive experience in commercial real estate litigation, negotiations, international dispute resolution, project development, and permitting and licensing. Some of his most high-profile work has involved a decade-long engagement with a prominent multinational transit pipeline project company in real estate and real estate-related litigation matters, requiring work involving a multitude of title deed registries all around Turkey. · Real Estate
Piraye Kuranel Başol
Piraye Kuranel Başol is among the leaders of our Banking & Finance and Infrastructure & Project Finance practice groups, advising on all aspects of financing transactions. Ms. Kuranel Başol is known for creating custom and efficient solutions for each particular transaction based on over two decades’ worth of experience representing clients on every side of cross-border transactional financing. She also has extensive experience in the compliance side of Banking & Finance and is highly praised for her ability to translate that know-how into building robust transactional structures. Ms. Kuranel Başol represents international and local banks, international financial institutions (IFIs), international development banks (IDBs), Export Development Banks, corporations, and private clients on all finance-related aspects of their projects. Some of her most significant work has included several multi-billion dollar major infrastructure-financing projects by bank consortiums including IFIs. Additionally, Ms. Kuranel Başol consistently represents both the sponsors and borrowers, and having worked with both financial institutions and borrowers, she has gained the unique perspective of being able to see and understand the expectations of both parties and advise accordingly. · Banking & Finance
Senem Denktaş
Senem Denktaş is a leader in our Infrastructure & Project Finance and M&A practice groups. In the field of infrastructure, Ms. Denktaş is known for providing comprehensive support through every phase of project development and having an ability to look beyond daily and short-term priorities in order to take into account potential issues through the entire lifecycle of long-term projects. Additionally, her decades-long M&A experience in nearly all major sectors and all types of M&A work has been an invaluable asset to our clients, her innovative structuring advice and streamlined efficiency consistently ensuring rapid but fundamentally robust outcomes. · Infrastructure & Project Finance
Serkan Gül
Mr. Gül is a partner in our firm's real estate practice group. He advises on every phase of real estate transactions including asset and share deals, from the inception of projects through their completion. He has acquired wide experience in property transactions with a specific focus on residential, office, shopping center, hotel and port investments. Mr. Gül advises his clients on zoning, construction, license and permits, leasing, sale and leasebacks, profit sharing agreements and EPC contracts, real estate investment funds, real estate investment trusts, as well as the structuring of projects and investments. He acts on behalf of a wide range of national and international clients comprised of property developers, real estate investment trusts, investment funds, construction companies, landlords, tenants and other parties involved in real estate development. · Real Estate
Sule Uluç
Şule Uluç is a partner in the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Team of Hergüner Bilgen Üçer. Ms. Uluç has focused her practice in the areas of international and domestic arbitration and dispute resolution. She advises and represents our foreign and local clients in all areas of the dispute resolution processes including courts, domestic and international arbitration, amicable dispute resolution as well as mandatory mediation processes with unique experience in the areas of commercial, employment, real estate and intellectual property disputes. · Dispute Resolution
Tolga Danışman
Mr. Danışman is a partner in the dispute resolution, white collar and investigations, and restructuring and insolvency practice groups. Mr. Danışman advises and represents multinational companies in connection with lawsuits arising from commercial and criminal disputes, investment, and consumer claims. A licensed mediator, Mr. Danışman’s practice focuses primarily on international and domestic commercial litigation and arbitration in multiple industries, as well as high-profile white-collar defense. · Dispute Resolution
Ufuk Yalçın
Ufuk Yalçın is a leader in our Corporate Support and Employment and Labour practice groups, where he plays a key role in assisting corporations in their day-to-day legal needs. Mr. Yalçın is renowned for his in-depth understanding of the various sectors in which our clients operate and his ability to tailor customized solutions to fit each sector and deal. Through his excellent representation in a significant number of recent high-profile cases, Mr. Yalçın has developed an outstanding reputation as a specialist in complex contentious matters including antitrust related proceedings. Mr. Yalçın primarily represents foreign companies entering the Turkish market and foreign and local companies for their day-to-day operational needs, including corporate governance, contract management, anti-bribery and anticorruption, franchising and distribution, and data protection as well as complex litigation matters. He represents some of the largest foreign companies doing business in Turkey in the medical devices, life sciences, manufacturing, insurance, automotive sectors. · Dispute Resolution
Yeşim Fethiye Api Şamlı
Yeşim Fethiye Api Şamlı is among the leaders in our Banking & Finance and Projects & Infrastructure practice groups. Ms. Api Şamlı has an outstanding reputation in the banking industry for her understanding of the operational needs of financial institutions, including not only commercial banks but also international financial institutions, ECAs and capital markets institutions, which she has developed through her close involvement in some of the most significant compliance-focused work in Turkey over the last two decades. She also has extensive experience on all sides of banking and finance transactions, having represented borrowers active in all major sectors in addition to lending institutions. · Banking & Finance
Zeynep Tor
Zeynep Tor has been with the firm since 2007 and is a partner in our firm’s M&A, Energy & Natural Resources and Real Estate practice areas. She has garnered experience especially in mergers & acquisitions and joint ventures in regulated sectors covering a wide range of sectors including e-commerce, energy, and lottery. She has also assisted our clients in long term energy infrastructure projects with her unique knowledge of the one-of-a-kind inter-governmental agreement model. She also often cooperates with our Real Estate team for hospitality projects involving complex contractual structures covering construction, branding and operation phases of the projects. · Corporate / M&A
Ümit Hergüner
Ümit Hergüner is the senior partner for Hergüner Bilgen Üçer, which he founded in 1989. The Hergüner firm is among the leading law firms in Turkey, and is a full service independent law firm representing a major international and national clientele, including international and multilateral financial institutions, global corporations, agencies and other notable clients. Mr. Hergüner is the head of the transactional practice group, which is a renowned global, cross-border mergers and acquisitions practice that cuts across a broad range of industries. Mr. Hergüner also provides expertise in project finance, international finance and banking, foreign, and strategic investments to clients including International Finance Institutions. Mr. Hergüner provides expert advice on foreign and strategic deals as well as legal advice regarding corporate governance, public policy, rule of law and related government affairs issues. · Corporate / M&A
İsmet Bozoğlu
İsmet Bozoğlu is among the leaders in our Commercial Support and Dispute Resolution practice groups. He also advises strategic investors in M&A transactions. Mr. Bozoğlu has also specific expertise in the maritime and aviation industries. He specializes in guiding the Turkish subsidiaries of global corporations through the complicated patchworks of compliance requirements. As a seasoned litigator, Mr. Bozoğlu also acts as lead counsel where his corporate clients are engaged in local disputes or international arbitration proceedings and specializes in suits arising out of distributorship relationships, market entry or exit transactions, and white-collar criminal proceedings. · Dispute Resolution