Professional notice
Turkey
Unlike other firms in Turkey, competition is ELİG GÜRKAYNAK ATTORNEYS AT LAW’s key focus, says Gönenç Gürkaynak, head of the firm’s 45-member competition team. ELİG Gürkaynak indisputably houses the country’s largest and most well-known antitrust practice, mostly thanks to Gönenç Gürkaynak’s experience and expertise. He filed the first merger notification under Turkey’s fledgling competition law in 1997 and has since helped build Turkey’s premier competition practice. Gönenç Gürkaynak is proud of his firm’s investment in the next generation of antitrust lawyers and in gender balance.
Gönenç Gürkaynak led the team defending Google in all four of the Turkish enforcer’s recent behavioural probes into the company. In 2019, the agency began investigating whether Google favours its own services in local search and also launched a separate probe into Google's alleged abuse of dominance in search advertising. In February 2020, the enforcer fined Google €12 million for abusing its dominance in the e-commerce market – a decision the company says it will appeal against. Gönenç Gürkaynak is also assisting Google with ongoing compliance obligations resulting from the authority’s Android probe. In January 2020, Gönenç Gürkaynak secured acquittals for two logistics companies accused of forming anticompetitive agreements with parcel delivery companies such as TNT and UPS.
ELİG Gürkaynak boasts an impressive roster of clients for whom it has recently provided merger control advice, including General Electric, Rolls-Royce, The Walt Disney Company and Mercedes-Benz. The firm recently secured local clearance for several global deals, representing Thales in its acquisition of Gemalto, Nidec in its purchase of Whirlpool and The Walt Disney Company in its acquisition of 20th Century Fox. The team also regularly assists Turkish companies in sectors such as shipping and energy to obtain all-important exemptions from competition rules.
ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law is an eminent, independent Turkish law firm based in Istanbul. The firm was founded in 2005.
ELIG Gürkaynak is committed to providing its clients with high-quality legal services. We combine a solid knowledge of Turkish law with a business-minded approach to develop legal solutions that meet the ever-changing needs of our clients in their international and domestic operations.
The firm builds and maintains close working relationships with a number of international law firms and collaborates with them to serve mutual clients on a range of transactions.
All members of the ELIG Gürkaynak team are fluent in English and speak a variety of other languages. Many ELIG Gürkaynak team members have obtained their graduate degrees in law schools in the US, the UK, Switzerland, France and Turkey. In addition to membership of the Istanbul Bar, Mr Gönenç Gürkaynak, a founding partner of ELIG Gürkaynak, is also qualified in New York, and is further qualified as a solicitor of the Law Society of England and Wales, currently as a non-practising member.
ELIG Gürkaynak’s key practice areas are corporate law, mergers & acquisitions, competition law, anti-corruption, white collar irregularities and compliance, EC law, Internet law, technology, media & telecommunications law, data protection & privacy law, banking and finance law, litigation & arbitration, energy, oil & gas law, administrative law, real estate law, anti-dumping law, pharma and healthcare regulatory, employment law and intellectual property law.
ELIG Gürkaynak delivers the top competition law practice in Turkey with 45 competition law specialists, out of a total of 90 lawyers at ELIG Gürkaynak. In addition to unparalleled experience in merger control issues, ELIG Gürkaynak has vast experience in defending companies before the Turkish Competition Board in all phases of antitrust investigations, abuse of dominant position cases, leniency handlings, and before courts on issues of private enforcement of competition law, along with appeals of the administrative decisions of the Turkish Competition Authority.
During the past year, ELIG Gürkaynak has been involved in over 85 merger clearances by the Turkish Competition Authority, more than 35 defence project investigations, and about 15 appeals before the administrative courts. ELIG Gürkaynak also provided more than 75 antitrust education seminars to employees of its clients.
ELIG Gürkaynak has a significant practice in Turkey focusing on internal investigations and white-collar criminal matters. Among other things, the practice advises clients in connection with Turkish corporate compliance issues under the relevant OECD Convention, FCPA, the UK Bribery Act and Turkish anti-corruption laws. This includes all matters relating to data privacy, employment law, anti-corruption policies and other related aspects of the Turkish legal regime.
ELIG Gürkaynak represents local and multinational conglomerates in M&A projects as well. The M&A team have vast experience and capability in handling multiple and significant M&A transactions, reorganisations, joint ventures and spin-offs. The firm’s corporate team has a solid practice in providing commercial and corporate law services to corporations, advising foreign clients during their entry to the Turkish market, and daily operations thereafter.
Unlike many local firms in Turkey, ELIG Gürkaynak has a recognised and significant practice in media, internet and new media, and telecommunications law. The practice mainly covers domain name disputes, website agreements, movie distribution agreements, internet copyright and internet trademarks, internet-related litigation, regulatory counselling, notice and takedown or judiciary decision enforcement assistance and localisation of telecom agreements and licenses to be signed with carriers.
ELIG Gürkaynak also has a solid track record and knowledge of litigation before Turkish civil and administrative courts. ELIG Gürkaynak is well equipped to handle all types of civil legal disputes before the Turkish courts.
Number of Lawyers: 90
Key Contact:
Gönenç Gürkaynak,
Founding Partner
Tel: +90 212 327 1724
[email protected]
For further information, please visit www.elig.com
Firm contact details:
Çitlenbik Sokak No:12,
Yildiz Mahallesi,
Besiktas 34349,
Istanbul / Turkey
Tel: +90 212 327 1724
Fax: +90 212 327 1725