Paksoy

Firm Details:

Founding & Senior Partner: Serdar Paksoy

Number of partners: 14

Number of lawyers: 90+

Languages: English, French, German, Turkish

Firm Overview:

Paksoy is an independent full-service law firm in Istanbul, Turkey, focused on helping clients in a wide range of legal areas, cross-border investments, international business transactions, investigations, compliance and disputes. Established in 1997, Paksoy stands today as one of the strongest local legal brands in Turkey focusing on numerous practice groups and sectors. Paksoy has lawyers and specialists from a background of varied sectors and industries, including international accounting and consultancy firms, industry regulators and private practice.

Main Areas of Practice:

-Anti-Corruption and White Collar Crime

-Antitrust and Competition

-Aviation

-Banking and Finance

-Capital Markets

-Compliance and Investigations

-Consumer Law

-Corporate and Commercial

-Data Privacy, Data Protection and Cyber Security

-Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Arbitration

-Energy and Natural Resources

-Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

-Information Technologies, Internet Law and New Technologies

-Infrastructure, PPP and Construction

-Insurance and Private Pensions

-Intellectual Property

-Islamic Finance

-Labour and Employment

-Mergers and Acquisitions

-Private Equity

-Project Finance

-Real Estate

-Restructuring and Insolvency

-Tax and Fiscal Services

-Wealth Management

Antitrust and Competition:

Paksoy advises on antitrust clearance for M&As, represents clients in filings and negotiations with the Turkish Competition Authority, provides assistance in antitrust investigations and counselling with respect to commercial contracts.

Contact: Togan Turan

Banking and Finance:

Paksoy has considerable experience in B&F work advising international and domestic investment and commercial banks, ECAs, borrowers and sponsors on financing projects for major infrastructure investments and other types of lending.

Contact: Sera Somay

Capital Markets:

Paksoy advises financial institutions, investment banks, underwriters, managers and issuers in domestic and international markets on equity, debt and equity-linked transactions, including initial and secondary public offerings, debt offerings, securities transactions and regulatory matters.

Contacts: Ömer Çollak and Ökkes Şahan

Compliance and Investigations:

Paksoy advises clients on anti-bribery, corruption and whistleblowing reviews and assists on investigations carried out by administrative authorities, regulators, tax authorities and customs administration as well as on compliance checks in connection with FCPA and UK Bribery Act.

Contact: Serdar Paksoy

Corporate and Commercial:

Paksoy advises clients on general corporate and contracts law and corporate governance issues.

Contacts: Elvan Aziz, Togan Turan, Stéphanie Beghe Sönmez, Nazlı Bezirci, Nihan Bacanak, Serdar Ildırar and Ayşe Demirel Atakan

Data Privacy, Data Protection and Cyber Security:

Paksoy advises clients on data protection matters in the context of local requirements and GDPR by assessing databases, preparing policies, notices and consent forms, revising contracts, advising on domestic and international data transfers, and assessing commercial offers, applications and processes to structure them in compliance with data protection legislation. The firm also provides compliance advice on TOMs, and breach prevention and notification.

Contact: Stéphanie Beghe Sönmez

Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Arbitration:

Paksoy acts for clients in litigation and arbitration work covering areas of contract, tort, fraud, shareholder disputes, mergers, procurement matters, product liability, employ- ment, competition, bankruptcy and insolvency. The firm appears before civil and administrative courts, arbitration tribunals, tax tribunals and regulatory authorities.

Contacts: Serdar Paksoy and Simel Sarıalioğlu

Energy and Natural Resources:

Paksoy advises global and domestic clients on major projects in connection with concession and license-based energy and natural resources deals and is very active in electricity, oil and gas industries working on a wide range of issues.

Contact: Sera Somay

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals:

Paksoy advises clients in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnol­ogy, medical devices, nutritional supplements, clinical re­search and private hospital sectors, from product inception to commercial sale and licensing, on compliance programs (promotion, public procurement) and on M&A transac­tions.

Contacts: Elvan Aziz, Stéphanie Beghe Sönmez and Nihan Bacanak

Information Technologies, Internet Law and New Technologies:

Paksoy advises clients on legal aspects of business procedures digitalisation and emerging technologies including IoT, cloud usage, robotics, AI, blockchain and cryptocurrency. The firm assists clients with implementing new payment systems legislation and its outcomes such as open-banking, structuring e-commerce offers in the digital environment, online customer on-boarding and content management. Paksoy also advises on planning, implementation and supervision of IT projects including outsourcing, licensing and service agreements.

Contacts: Stéphanie Beghe Sonmez and Sera Somay

Infrastructure, PPP and Construction:

Paksoy has significant experience covering all aspects of PPP investments such as project contracts, authorisations, public and administrative law, litigation and regulatory framework. Paksoy advises contractors and owners in projects involving construction, operation and maintenance of complex structures, including public structures, mining sites and shopping malls.

Contact: Sera Somay

Insurance and Private Pensions:

Paksoy represents domestic and multinational players in the non-life insurance, life insurance, reassurance and private pension sectors, advising on sector-specific requirements and regulatory matters, and representing investors on major M&A and bancassurance transactions.

Contacts: Stéphanie Beghe Sonmez and Nazlı Bezirci

Islamic Finance:

Paksoy advises conventional and Islamic financial institutions, investors, and corporate borrowers on all aspects of Islamic finance. The firm has been at the forefront of Islamic product development in Turkey, working with all major market makers.

Contact: Sera Somay

Mergers and Acquisitions:

Paksoy provides advice to clients on cross-border transactions and domestic investments in a wide range of sectors, representing investors from strategic investors to PEs. The firm works on a variety of investment structures including full acquisitions, minority investments, mergers, spin-offs, joint ventures, business transfers and asset deals.

Contacts: Elvan Aziz, Togan Turan, Stéphanie Beghe Sönmez, Nazlı Bezirci, Nihan Bacanak, Serdar Ildırar and Ayşe Demirel Atakan

Labour and Employment:

Paksoy provides clients with advice on all aspects of individual and collective labour law, including localisation and drafting employment agreements and bylaws, as well as termination related documentation and outsourcing agreements.

Contact: Elvan Aziz and Gülce Saydam Pehlivan

Project Finance:

Paksoy has extensive experience in project financing, gained through representing the lenders, sponsors, project companies, institutional investors, contractors and operators in various types of projects including power, oil and gas, mining, infrastructure, healthcare and shopping mall projects.

Contact: Sera Somay

Real Estate:

Paksoy handles a wide variety of real property transactions including all aspects of real estate development projects including joint venture and revenue sharing systems, sale and purchase of property, long-term leasehold contracts, construction loans and leases of residential and commercial properties.

Contact: Elvan Aziz

Tax and Fiscal Services:

Paksoy provides clients with advice on all types of taxation events on corporate, income tax, VAT and stamp duty as well as transfer pricing, expatriate taxation and international tax structuring.

Contact: Şansal C. Erbacıoğlu