International Lawyers in Turkey 

Akkas & Associates Turkish Law Firm acts for clients engaged in a broad range of transnational activities and provides a full range of corporate, financial, and tax planning advice. Foreign clients call upon Akkas & Associates Turkish Law Firm to assist in their penetration and development of markets, to provide advice, negotiation skills and connections, and to play a major role in dispute resolution through counseling, litigation, mediation, or arbitration. Akkas & Associates Turkish Law Firm has an established network of correspondent law firms located in more than 15 countries.

The firm's attorneys handle on a daily basis transactions involving Eurepean, American, and Asian companies doing business in Turkey and Turkish companies investing in or trading in Europe and Asia. Akkas & Associates Turkish Law Firm's Litigation Section handles the resolution of disputes arising from transnational transactions involving abroad.

Litigation

Our attorneys have played a lead role in major antitrust suits in Turkish courts, in arbitration tribunals, before the Turkish Trade Commission, and before the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Our antitrust clients include companies and organizations from a wide array of businesses, industries, and professions, including banking and financial services, insurance, franchising, energy and utilities, health care, restaurants, hotels, broadcasting, and bookselling, as well as trade associations and charitable organizations. Our attorneys have handled claims relating to price-fixing, territorial allocation, tying, exclusive dealing, monopolization, attempt to monopolize, and price discrimination. We have represented claimants and defendants. We have defended mergers from antitrust challenge, and have challenged hostile tender offers on antitrust grounds.

Akkas & Associates Turkish Law Firm attorneys have taken leadership roles in the antitrust litigation in Turkey. Our firm’s Antitrust lawyers have obtained summary dismissals of numerous antitrust claims, taken significant antitrust cases to trial, been awarded for Significant Achievement in Alternative Dispute Resolution for the conduct of a major antitrust arbitration, and qualified and testified as an expert in Turkish antitrust law.

Counseling and Compliance

We recognize that the best way to defend against a legal claim is to prevent the claim from arising. Accordingly, we work with our clients to develop effective programs to comply with Turkish antitrust laws. An increasingly large proportion of business transactions -- not only mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, but the panoply of distribution and other contractual arrangements - may raise antitrust issues. Akkas & Associates Turkish Law Firm's antitrust lawyers regularly review proposed transactions, customer and competitor relationships, and business strategies with our clients to help assure that our clients can compete vigorously in the marketplace while minimizing the risk of antitrust liability.

Our attorneys have made numerous pre-merger notification filings, including the handling of second requests, and have been involved in the analysis and structuring of proposed mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. Our counseling activities also include advice regarding pricing of products and services; acquisitions and licensing of intellectual property; development and review of franchise and distribution arrangements; and trade association activity.

Inbound

For foreign entities and other foreign persons, Akkas & Associates Turkish Law Firm attorneys act in Turkey to do the following:

• Defend clients sued or involved in arbitration in Turkey or pursue remedies for foreign entities or individuals in Turkey in Turkish courts and through arbitration;

• Advise upon and implement the issuance of shares and ADRs or other equity by foreign issuers in the Turkish securities markets, both public and private;
• Prosecute patent, trademark, and copyright matters, including licensing of technology;
• Advise upon domestic and foreign tax matters, including tax treaty problems and direct and indirect foreign tax credit matters, and provide counseling for general tax and business planning;
• Structure, negotiate and document acquisitions and dispositions of companies (public and private) and assets to achieve clients' tax, legal, and business strategies;
• Structure sales and/or leasing transactions, with a particular emphasis on representation, distribution, licensing, franchising, and financing agreements;
• Negotiate and document joint venture agreements and strategic alliances;
• Advise upon trade matters;
• Counsel clients regarding compliance with treaties and regulations;
• Provide advice and processing regarding visa, immigration, and citizenship matters;
• Counsel clients on Turkish estate planning, working with their local advisors, and prepare wills and trusts to implement the plans; and
• Select and establish appropriate investment structures to achieve client goals.

Outbound

The firm's practice representing Turkish based investors and businesses in their efforts to reach global markets includes:

• Access to foreign markets through agency, distributor, franchise and joint venture agreements;
• Structuring, negotiating and documenting mergers, acquisitions of companies and assets, and strategic alliances;
• Establishment of foreign operations, including organization of foreign entities, movement of Turkish personnel to foreign countries, and related labor, benefits and tax issues;
• Litigation, mediation, and arbitration;
• Protection of intellectual property abroad and the licensing of technology and intellectual property;
• Letters of credit and other financing of equity and debt requirements; and
• Handling international tax issues and disputes with taxing authorities.