Kolcuoglu Demirkan Koçakli — Turkey

Aslıhan Balcı

Managing Associate Aslıhan Balcı advises domestic and foreign capital companies on corporate and commercial law as well as contracts. She works with clients across various industries, including retail, textiles, consultancy, audit and chemicals. Her experience includes advising on restructuring projects, corporate governance matters and complex shareholder disputes, particularly those arising from management and control issues. · Corporate / M&A

Begüm Biçer İlikay

Partner Begüm Biçer İlikay has experience in dispute resolution, compliance and investigations. She represents domestic and international clients before the Turkish Courts, execution offices and other public authorities in a broad range of matters, including commercial and corporate disputes, complex intra-company disputes, employment disputes, administrative lawsuits, enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings, as well as white‑collar criminal matters. Begüm also advises on Turkish law aspects of disputes pending before foreign courts. She has experience in the enforcement of foreign court judgments and arbitral awards. In addition, she supports clients on compliance with local and international anti-corruption and anti-bribery regulations, and conducts internal investigations. She has been involved in a number of major investigation processes. Begüm leads Firm's French Desk. · Litigation

Begüm İnceçam Kolcuoğlu

Counsel Begüm İnceçam Kolcuoğlu advises on mergers and acquisitions, as well as corporate and commercial law matters. She has been involved in a range of M&A transactions, including Turkey’s landmark deals. Her experience covers various transaction structures involving joint ventures and public and private companies operating in sectors such as energy, insurance, retail, electronics and financial services. She advises multinational corporations, leading private equity firms as well as local entities, both in their cross-border and local transactions. · Corporate / M&A

Bihter Bozbay Inan

Partner Bihter Bozbay İnan has significant experience advising private equity firms and international and local corporations on M&A, joint ventures and corporate and finance transactions. She leads the Firm’s M&A team on transactions across a broad range of sectors. Bihter advises clients throughout the full lifecycle of their investments, from entry to exit, including add-on investments, both in Turkey and abroad. Her transactional practice spans a range of leading-edge sectors, including entertainment, technology, insurance, food production, packaging and manufacturing. She also has substantial experience in banking and finance and continues to advise local and international banks and financial institutions, including on bank mergers and acquisitions. · Corporate / M&A

Büşra Özden

Partner Büşra Özden advises on real estate and construction law, as well as corporate and commercial matters, with a particular focus on real estate investment and acquisitions, and project development. Her experience includes construction, design and engineering contracts, real estate development, PPP projects, privatizations and concessions, as well as collateral, lease and zoning matters. She also advises on M&A transactions. Büşra represents domestic and foreign clients, including banks and financial institutions, private equity firms, real estate investors and project developers, across sectors such as energy, data centers, ports, retail and hospitality. In 2026, Büşra became the Young Lawyers’ Committee Liaison Officer of the International Bar Association’s Real Estate Section. · Real Estate

Cihan Mercan

Managing Associate Cihan Mercan focuses on international arbitration and cross‑border disputes, advising and representing clients in complex arbitration proceedings arising from commercial disputes, as well as related litigation, including the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards in Turkey. He has been extensively involved in international and domestic arbitration proceedings conducted under ICC, DIS, LME, and ISTAC rules, as well as ad hoc arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, acting as counsel and arbitrator. Cihan also advises clients on energy law, particularly in oil and gas matters, and Turkish public tender legislation. His experience in M&A transactions further enhances his understanding of the commercial context of complex disputes. · International Arbitration

Derya Durlu Gürzumar

Counsel Derya Durlu Gürzumar focuses on international arbitration, with particular experience in international commercial arbitration, including acting as secretary to arbitral tribunals. Her practice also covers AI and cyber security, IT law, competition law and white-collar crime. Derya is actively involved with the International Bar Association (IBA) and holds several leadership roles across different committees. · International Arbitration

Gökçe İldiri Coşgüner

Partner Gökçe İldiri Coşgüner has experience in domestic and cross-border acquisitions, with a particular focus on private equity transactions. She advises sector‑leading clients and private equity funds on a wide range of M&A matters. Gökçe represents domestic and international clients in the drafting and negotiation of transaction documents, including share purchase, option, pledge, escrow and shareholders’ agreements. Her M&A work covers various transaction structures involving joint ventures and private companies operating in sectors such as food production, manufacturing, technology and fintech. · Corporate / M&A

Hasan H. Yaşar

Partner Hasan H. Yaşar has significant experience in capital markets law as well as banking and finance law. Hasan represents multinational banks, financial institutions, brokerage firms, portfolio management companies, investment funds and publicly held companies in a wide range of cross-border and domestic capital markets and banking transactions. His experience includes swap and derivatives transactions, financing and repo transactions, equity and debt capital markets offerings, securitization transactions, electronic money offerings, and matters relating to investment services, payment services and insurance products. He has represented the underwriters in all Eurobond offerings of the Republic of Turkey over a ten‑year period. He also provides legal advice to local and foreign crypto service providers and crypto markets. · Capital Markets

Maral Minasyan

Partner With approximately 20 years of experience at the Firm, Maral Minasyan advises on corporate governance, commercial contracts, employment law and personal data privacy law. She acts for domestic and multinational companies operating in various sectors, including retail, electronics, insurance, media, e-commerce, technology, manufacturing and automotive. Maral advises multinational companies on all contentious and non-contentious aspects of employment law, from hiring through termination, as well as on collective labor matters. She has conducted negotiations with trade unions at both domestic and international levels. Her practice also focuses on employment‑related projects with a strong personal data privacy dimension. She guides clients on the personal data privacy aspects of new products or services, commercial arrangements involving personal data, and designs tailor-made data privacy compliance programs. · Corporate Governance

Melis Öget Koç

Partner Melis Öget Koç has significant experience in M&A, energy and infrastructure, and banking and finance matters, with additional experience in a range of regulatory issues. Melis advises clients on M&A transactions, including the structuring, drafting and negotiation of a wide range of transaction agreements. She has led several transactions across a variety of regulated sectors, including energy, aviation, pharmaceuticals, insurance, agricultural and nutrition products, as well as information technologies. She also has particular expertise in financing transactions in the aviation sector. Melis advises foreign and local companies on compliance with complex regulatory regimes under Turkish law. She regularly represents clients before Turkish regulatory authorities and guides them through regulatory approval, permitting and licensing processes. She also advises on energy and infrastructure projects, with particular experience in EPC contracts. · Corporate / M&A

Nejan Duman

Managing Associate Nejan Duman advises multinational and local companies, as well as leading private equity firms, on mergers and acquisitions, contracts and corporate law matters. Her M&A experience spans both domestic and cross‑border transactions, involving joint ventures and privately held companies. She has advised on transactions across a range of sectors, including media and entertainment, healthcare, energy, packaging, food, automotive, chemicals, manufacturing, technology and insurance. · Corporate / M&A

Neyzar Ünübol

Partner Neyzar Ünübol leads the Firm’s competition law practice, providing services in all aspects of competition law, including cartel and abuse of dominance investigations, individual exemption applications, and merger control matters relating to M&A transactions, joint ventures and remedies. She also designs and implements specialized competition law compliance programs for multinational and local clients, and delivers sector‑specific competition law trainings. · Competition / Antitrust

Okan Demirkan

Partner With more than 25 years of experience, Okan Demirkan has represented several international clients as well as local entities, in arbitration proceedings concerning major infrastructure projects, including build-operate-transfer (BOT) model investments, and a broad range of commercial and project‑related contracts. He has been extensively involved in numerous ICC, DIS, SAC, LCIA, DIAC, LME, ITOTAM and ISTAC arbitration proceedings, as well as various ad hoc arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. He has served as counsel, arbitrator (presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator or co-arbitrator) and expert witness. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and serves as a Board Member of the Swiss Arbitration Association. In addition to international arbitration, Okan represents clients in a wide range of litigation matters before Turkish courts, including commercial, administrative and employment disputes, enforcement and set-aside proceedings, as well as white-collar crime matters. He also acts as an expert witness in foreign jurisdictions on Turkish law matters. He has been strategically involved in the legal and regulatory aspects of major transit pipeline projects, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline Project (BTC) and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP). He has advised on major natural gas sale and import projects as well as a number of electricity generation facility projects. Okan is a prominent figure in the area of ethics and compliance. He has conducted numerous internal investigations relating to regulatory and anti-bribery/anti-corruption matters. · International Arbitration

Okan Gündüz

Of Counsel Dr. Okan Gündüz advises multinational and domestic companies on a broad range of corporate and commercial law matters. His practice spans contracts, competition, employment, consumer law, public tenders, as well as compliance-related investigations. He has been advising clients operating in sectors such as healthcare and life sciences, energy, technology and education. With over 25 years of experience, Okan represents clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including disputes arising from agency, distribution, sponsorship, sale and purchase agreements, as well as recovery of large-scale debts, unfair competition, intellectual property, product liability, insolvency and real estate matters. · Corporate / M&A

Selin Balkır Erçin

Senior Associate Selin Balkır Erçin is a member of the Firm’s Employment Law team, with a particular focus on labor disputes and white-collar crime matters. She advises domestic and multinational companies across the full range of employment law issues, including internal disciplinary proceedings, internal investigations, terminations and redundancies, human resources planning, employment contracts, the implementation of global policies and collective labor law matters. Selin also assists clients in settlement and mediation negotiations with current and former executives, as well as in collective bargaining negotiations with trade unions, and represents clients before relevant governmental authorities. She is experienced in Turkish and international anti-corruption and anti-bribery regulations. Her broader practice also includes commercial and administrative litigation, as well as debt-collection proceedings, including execution, bankruptcy and foreclosure matters. · Employment

Serhan Kocaklı

Partner Serhan Koçaklı leads the Firm’s corporate and commercial as well as real estate and construction practices. He advises some of Turkey’s leading companies, as well as leading foreign capital companies, on a broad range of matters including corporate law, joint ventures, commercial contracts and employment law. He also has significant experience in establishing and enhancing corporate governance structures for family-owned businesses, as well as resolving shareholder disputes. Serhan has a strong focus on the real estate sector, advising on a wide range of commercial and industrial property transactions. He has extensive experience in the drafting and negotiation of real estate agreements, as well as zoning, construction and property development matters. He also advises on the legal framework governing the real estate aspects of complex projects, including mixed-use developments, renewable energy projects, port developments and tourism facility projects involving treasury or state-owned land. He is a lecturer in real estate law courses for special programs organized by Istanbul-based universities. · Corporate / M&A

Umut Kolcuoğlu

Managing Partner Dr. Umut Kolcuoğlu has approximately 30 years of experience advising on M&A, privatizations, joint ventures, capital markets, corporate and finance transactions, as well as international commercial dispute resolution. He has advised leading domestic and multinational companies and private equity firms on a wide range of cross-border and local transactions across numerous industry sectors, including energy and infrastructure, insurance, retail, technology, aerospace, hospitality, electronics, automotive, pharmaceuticals and financial services. He also has extensive experience in restructurings and finance transactions involving leading banks, borrowers, financial institutions, funds and other public and private companies. Umut also provides corporate and commercial law support to companies and individuals in both contentious and non-contentious matters. From time to time, he acts as expert witness in international arbitration proceedings concerning corporate and commercial disputes. He leads the Firm’s German Desk. Aside from his legal practice, Umut serves as an independent board member of several companies. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation and contributes to the development of the Turkish entrepreneurship ecosystem. · Corporate / M&A

İnci Karcılıoğlu

Partner İnci Karcılıoğlu has significant experience in corporate law, contracts, joint ventures, corporate restructuring and compliance. She advises multinational companies across a wide range of sectors, including telecommunications, audit services, chemicals, facility management and IT. In addition to providing legal assistance with respect to clients’ operations, she primarily assists international clients on the full breadth of structuring matters related to inbound investments in Turkey, from incorporation to liquidation. She provides advice to clients on shareholder disputes, including minority issues and governance matters. · Corporate / M&A

İpek Yüksel

Managing Associate İpek Yüksel advises domestic and international clients, ranging from start-ups to established industry leaders, on M&A transactions, corporate governance, compliance and broader corporate law matters. She works with clients across various sectors, including energy, port operations, chemicals, insurance, technology and fintech. Her experience includes advising both buy-side and sell-side clients on M&A transactions, as well as private equity investments and transaction‑related regulatory matters, with a particular focus on cross-border work. · Corporate / M&A