Contributors Gür Law Firm

GUR Law Firm, established by its founding partner Mr Tevfik Gür in 1984, is one of the leading Turkish law firms with a selective legal team. The firm has an outstanding reputation in offering a comprehensive range of legal services to international and local clients. With correspondent lawyers in several cities of Turkey, as well as in all major countries abroad, GUR Law Firm is able to respond to its clients’ needs promptly by providing time efficient services and strive to develop a long-term relationship with each client based on mutual trust and a thorough understanding of the clients’ unique operations.

The goal of each and every department of our firm is to assist its wide range of clients in its best endeavors with its highly qualified legal team who have particular knowledge and experience in their own field. With the up-to-date knowledge of the market and a business oriented approach, our firm promises unique legal counseling to its clients in all areas of commercial life.

Our philosophy is the protection of clients’ legal rights together with the satisfaction of their commercial and operational needs by delivering services with maximum professional standards from the initial contact through to the completion of the matter.

Areas of Practice

Corporate and M&A

M&A is a key practice for GUR Law Firm. The firm has broad experience in acquisitions and dispositions of both established and emerging businesses, whether public or private, domestic or international. It has advised multinational corporations, strategic investors, listed companies, state-owned enterprises and professional investment institutions, corporate buyers and sellers in transactions commencing from due diligence reviews through the closing process followed by post-closing work in projects and in providing these services, our firm works closely with tax and financial advisors. The team also advises target companies and their shareholders on the sale of assets or shares. In addition to conventional M&A, the practice assists special committees of boards of directors, investment banks, buy-out funds and other acquisition vehicles, both with respect to their structuring and formation, and in connection with subsequent investments.

Shipping and Transportation

GUR Law Firm is recognized as one of the most competent and leading firms in contentious and non- contentious, wet or dry, hull or cargo and other shipping issues, which comprise a complete shipping legal service for its present and potential clients, among whom ship owners, charterers and cargo interests take place. Our shipping lawyers have impressive expertise in the sectorial and commercial nuances of the shipping area and deal with full range of legal issues affecting those involved in shipping industry, advising on charter parties, shipbuilding, management agreements, cargo claims, H&M and P&I maritime insurances among other things. The firm handles all types of maritime proceedings and litigation including ship arrest, defending cargo interests on behalf of ship owners, clubs, cargo interests; ship fires, salvage, groundings, collisions, pollutions, sinking, wreck removals, general average. We have strong long-term cooperation relationships with foreign law firms worldwide that ensures timely and qualitative legal assistance on international basis and representation of the clients in mediation, before foreign courts, arbitration courts, ICC, LMAA and GAFTA; as well as recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments/arbitration awards.

GUR Law Firm’s shipping and finance practice represents a wide range of national and international clients including banks, financial institutions and owners in all types of ship finance and leasing transactions including restructurings of existing financings, complex structured financings, syndicated loans, as well as loan work-outs. As a result of the need arisen in recent years, we have formed a great expertise regarding all aspects of validity and enforcement of securities under Turkish Law and regularly provide advices and legal opinions to foreign and local banks on related matters.

Our firm’s legal consultancy services also cover land transportation, logistics, aviation matters and freight forwarding and assisting the leading freight forwarders and/or carriers in Turkey in the disputes arising therefrom. Our team possesses the know-how and experience to render utmost services to its clients on every matter including combined transportation, international transportation, trailer and container carriage and existing routes, freights and the entire transportation organization.

Ship & Aircraft Finance

GUR LAW’s ship and aircraft finance team represents a wide range of national and international clients including financial institutions and owners in all types of ship and aircraft finance and leasing transactions. These transactions include restructuring of existing financing, complex structured financing, syndicated loans and loan work-outs.

As a result of the recent increase in demand, we have formed a solid expertise regarding validity and enforcement of all securities under Turkish Law and we regularly provide advice and legal opinion to foreign and local banks on related matters.

Our firm’s ship and aircraft finance experts are heavily involved in sale and purchase of ships and aircraft, establishment of related corporate and tax structures as well as mortgage registrations in foreign jurisdictions. Through its large network consisting of leading international firms and shipping institutions, our firm is capable of providing fast and effective service in connection to all aspects of ship and aircraft finance.

Real Estate and Construction

Our firm represents development companies, private equities, construction companies, hotel management companies, international and local banks, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors in real estate transactions covering purchase and sale of land, real estate development projects, management and operation projects, establishing in rem rights such as mortgage and easements, long leasehold contracts, sale of residential and commercial projects, or in financing projects.

Intellectual Property

Our firm offers full scale legal services in the field of copyright and industrial property rights (IPR) law, ranging from support in development and selection of trademarks, supervision of registrations and applications nationally and internationally, renewal of registrations, representation before Turkish Patent Institute, including all oppositions and cancellation proceedings, administrating and monitoring rights, conducting litigation before the civil and criminal courts involving the enforcement of registered and non-registered IPRs, anti- counterfeiting and brand protection, negotiating and drafting agreements for the purchase, sale or licensing of IPRs.

We are able to provide essential knowledge of the Internet Law, advice clients on a wide variety of legal and business issues involving the Internet. As a team we advise our clients on developing domain name registration strategies along with managing and setting priorities for enforcement efforts by developing specific guidelines and strategies. The firm represents clients before national courts and domain name arbitration centers such as WIPO and Czech Arbitration Court.

Employment

Our employment team handles full range of employment works; including advising on employment contracts and policies, performance and absence management, disciplinary and grievance procedures and managing restructuring, redundancies and executive severance. We recognize management of people as key to business success. We work with clients to respond immediately to all workplace issues and provide solutions which are tailored to and appropriate for our clients’ commercial objectives, people strategies and culture.

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

GUR Law Firm’s litigation and dispute resolution department provides legal services to help clients resolve disputes efficiently and effectively including joint ventures, real estate/construction projects, trade, licensing issues, marine, aviation, energy and other international commercial disputes. The firm aims to achieve dispute resolution for the clients through arbitration, litigation or ADR techniques, consistent with the client’s commercial objectives.

We have an extensive experience and a growing reputation in arbitration. Our practice includes advising on drafting of arbitration clauses, representing domestic and international clients as claimants and respondents in institutional and ad hoc arbitral proceedings and, when necessary, conducting litigation to enforce arbitration awards under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and Code on International Private Law and Procedural Law. The firm has established itself as a leader in the field of foreign judgment and arbitration award enforcement and has succeeded in obtaining many groundbreaking rulings in this developing area of the law. We also serve our clients in the private and public sector with respect to administrative objection, administrative litigation and administrative enforcement issues often advising on complex regulatory issues.

Debt Recovery

Our debt recovery department provides legal services to clients on all liquidation and debt recovery/collection issues, funding and restructuring strategies, recovery and disposal of assets, collecting receivables of foreign and domestic clients and acts on behalf of liquidation practitioners in litigation and investigation. The team advises creditors on taking and enforcing security actions and strategies to protect their position prior to and after a debtor becomes insolvent. The aim is to maximize recovery, while keeping costs as low as possible. The firm has a large network of correspondent lawyers throughout Turkey and the world, as well as a competent team of paralegals for handling the debt recovery and collection procedures on a timely and effective manner.

Energy and Natural Resources

Our energy and natural resources team has acquired extensive experience and know-how in all areas of the energy market over the years, such as natural gas, oil and fuel supply, private power stations, electricity purchase and power generation, solar energy, hydroelectric power plants, wind energy, renewable energy projects and others. We respond effectively to the changing shape of the energy and resources sector, brought by market liberalization and its implications- including market consolidation and restructuring and assist our clients in meeting the ever more complex demands of regulatory frameworks.

Competition

Our clients rely on us as specialists in regulatory policy to organize coalitions of legal, economic and academic experts to protect their business strategies, products and intellectual property rights. We invest significant time and energy in understanding each sector’s specific complexities and defending our clients’ unique interests. GUR Law Firm’s competition team combines high- level technical expertise and extensive trade practices experience. Our multidisciplinary approach integrates sound economic skills, legal analysis and specialist industry knowledge. In the area of competition law, we also provide legal and practical assistance with respect to competition legislation and the guidelines of the Turkish Competition Authority. This involves pre-merger notifications regarding mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures as well as applications for negative clearances and individual exemptions. The firm advises clients on daily business transactions and the structuring of distribution systems which may have competition law related aspects.

General Tax Consultancy

As GUR Law Firm we advise on general tax matters, VAT liability, and all types of customs duties including anti-dumping duties, and stamp tax, as well as compliance procedures. Our tax team has vast experience in general tax consultancy matters and within this scope, we design and implement tax-effective structures for corporate, financial and commercial transactions, advise on local and international tax liabilities and represent clients in the settlement of tax-related disputes. Much of our work has international implications, with opportunities for complex cross-border tax planning, and enables us to work with some of the world’s biggest companies and our colleagues from all of our departments.