Tell us about your career choice and journey. And what made you decide to get into law? And what are the most important factors when considering a career in law
My father is also a lawyer — and my role model. I have always admired him, both personally and professionally. His moral values, sense of justice, the way he approaches problems and finds solutions, and the respect he has earned from others have always inspired me. I can say without hesitation that he had the greatest influence on my decision to enter the legal profession.
As I shaped my career as a lawyer, I always kept his voice and his experiences in the back of my mind, blending them with my own learnings along the way. Law, to me, is the voice of one’s conscience, the most powerful tool in the pursuit of justice, and the foundation of a secure future. I grew up witnessing this within my family — and that’s why I decided to dedicate my life to it.
Justice, conscience, and ethics are all deeply human concepts. That’s why my greatest advice to future colleagues considering a career in law would be: be observant, empathetic, conscientious, and patient. In this profession, you meet new people and new stories every day, and you will often find yourself navigating through justice that is interpreted in very subjective ways.
Which practice areas gave you the most interest during your education at Marmara University Faculty of Law and do you use all of them in your current career?
It might sound a bit boring, but the subjects that fascinated me most at university were Roman Law and the Law of Obligations. Rome was the civilization where the foundations of our modern legal systems were first laid. Concepts such as debt, property, and inheritance all trace back to Roman law — a system built on resolving disputes. Even issues that seem distant to modern life, like conflicts involving slaves, were governed by well-structured legal principles.
Law, by nature, is not built on revenge but on reconciliation — and the Law of Obligations provides the frameworks for such solutions. The similarities between Roman private law and our modern legal systems are so striking that sometimes you feel as though you are living both in the past and the present at once, realizing that humanity has always grappled with similar problems.
The Law of Obligations helps you understand today by looking into the past, and its solution-oriented structure often sheds light even on daily life. I have built much of my career around this area — even though I handle cases in various fields, my main focus has always been on the Law of Obligations.
You started you career in private practice and spent five years at Baspinar & Partners and then 4 years as legal counsel at Deichman. Talk to us about your experiences and what differences do you find working in private practice and in-house.
I have been practicing law actively for 17 years. I actually started working full-time as a student intern before even graduating from university. Since that day, I have never taken a break from law — even when I had my son, I only took the mandatory four-month maternity leave and returned to work immediately afterward.
Başpınar & Partners was the first firm where I had the opportunity to work with large-scale clients. I gained extensive experience in the textile and retail industries, which helped me realize the areas I truly enjoyed working in and shaped the foundation of my professional focus.
After that, I joined Deichmann — this time not on the firm side, but as the head of the legal department within the company itself. This experience taught me how to maintain a close yet appropriately professional relationship with a client. One of the fundamental principles of being a lawyer is not identifying yourself with the client, and when you work as in-house counsel, you have to make careful adjustments to preserve that balance.
Deichmann is a global company headquartered in Germany, with legal teams in nearly every country where it operates. Each year, we gathered in a European city to share insights with lawyers from different jurisdictions. What I discovered was that no matter where you are in the world, legal disputes within the same industry often share common foundations.
This experience deepened my admiration for the Law of Obligations once again — Deichmann allowed me to witness the full legal “lifecycle” of a process, from its beginning to its end. During my law firm years, I worked with shopping mall investors; as in-house counsel, I represented a single brand throughout its journey.
To me, the process of purchasing land, developing a project, constructing a shopping center, managing lease agreements, and finally terminating those leases represents the birth, life, and death of a legal relationship. I had the privilege of leading that process from start to finish. The greatest difference — and the most valuable lesson — between my time at Başpınar & Partners and Deichmann was seeing these processes from different perspectives, gaining a holistic understanding of their interconnected roles.
You are currently the managing partner at Polat & Polat. Talk to us about your role. What does a typical working week look like for you?
Being a managing partner is quite different from working for a firm or a company — beyond leading legal processes, it comes with many additional responsibilities that I approach with great care. There are three partners in our firm, and I’m the only woman among them. I genuinely believe that women are courageous when it comes to taking responsibility in every aspect of life and that they make a meaningful difference wherever they stand. My partners share that belief — which is why they entrusted me with overseeing finance and administrative affairs.
As a managing partner, your focus must extend from making sure the office supplies are stocked to managing the firm’s finances efficiently. You must also be aware of your team’s strengths and weaknesses to maintain productivity and ensure the highest quality of work.
In addition to directly supervising legal services with my colleagues, I also lead the finance, accounting, and administrative departments. Most of my day revolves around making decisions, taking initiative, and finding quick solutions to unexpected challenges. I don’t always make these decisions from a purely technical perspective — at times, I draw on my intuition and life experience as a woman to guide me.
At Polat & Polat, being both a lawyer and a manager has been the biggest transformation in my career. It means making critical decisions every single day. There’s always a problem to solve, a department that needs attention, or a team member whose best interests I need to protect.
What are your reflections on the culture of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession in Türkiye?
We are very fortunate to live in a country founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk — our founding principles include remarkably progressive and egalitarian values regarding women’s rights. In fact, many of the reforms in this area took place much earlier than in several countries that are today seen as pioneers of individual freedoms.
As a result, Türkiye produced some of the world’s “firsts” when it comes to women professionals: the first female combat pilot Sabiha Gökçen, the first female history professor Afet İnan, and Süreyya Ağaoğlu, the first woman to represent her country at the International Bar Association — among many others.
Unfortunately, all over the world — regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or belief — many people still face challenges, limitations, and discrimination that put them at a disadvantage. Türkiye, too, has a long way to go in terms of inclusivity. However, as citizens of the Republic, and especially as women, I have full faith that we can overcome these challenges.
I believe our focus should remain on what we have already achieved — walking our path not with a sense of victimhood but with a drive toward success, always striving to do the very best we can.
How do you see the new generation of women lawyers?
I truly admire the new generation! I find Gen Z incredibly inspiring — they know what they want and where they’re going much better than we did. Most importantly, they understand that a diploma is not an endpoint but a beginning. They’re aware that knowledge is infinite and that there are countless areas left to explore. They’re eager to learn, unafraid of change, and quick to let go of what doesn’t serve them — a skill that comes from knowing themselves and their boundaries very well.
When it comes to the legal profession, I think analytical thinking, a passion for learning, and self-awareness are essential. That’s exactly why I find today’s young women lawyers especially successful. A generation that can analyze its environment clearly is also one that can recognize discrimination and challenges much more easily.
So, I believe young women in law today have a sharper sense of direction — they know which paths to take and how to walk them. Their courage and authenticity are truly inspiring.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you be?
This is something I often think about — I believe everyone wonders what profession they might have chosen in an alternate life. For me, the answer would definitely be teaching. I’ve always believed that what truly matters isn’t the destination, but the journey itself. I would have loved to witness someone’s growth and development, walk alongside them, and nourish my own mind every day with new knowledge.
And by this, I don’t just mean academic growth — I also mean personal growth. If I had to be more specific, I think I would have become a language or social sciences teacher, because these are deeply human fields, rooted in life itself. I genuinely love learning and will always see myself as a lifelong student.
That said, I’m deeply grateful that my journey led me to law — because I now realize how much it has in common with teaching. As lawyers, we too are endlessly curious, constantly learning, and working in a field that revolves entirely around human experience — just like teachers.
Which women have inspired you the most?
I believe women exist to make the world a different — and better — place than they found it. The way we think, perceive, and approach life is quite different from men’s, and this difference plays a deeply complementary role in the evolution of the world.
Throughout my life — in my family, education, and career — I’ve crossed paths with many inspiring women whom I admire and am proud to have known. But one name I’d especially like to highlight is Lou Andreas-Salomé — a Russian philosopher who lived in the 19th century. She was associated with monumental figures like Freud, Tolstoy, and Nietzsche, yet never allowed her identity to be overshadowed by theirs.
What fascinates me most about her is not just her writings or literary contributions, but her way of existing as a woman in a time when that alone was revolutionary. Although she was forced into an unwanted marriage, she defied societal expectations by refusing to conform. She had relationships — both emotional and intellectual — with prominent men but never let those relationships define her. She ignored the judgment and labels that even today can cause women shame and managed to assert her strength without ever betraying her femininity.
Lou Andreas-Salomé had the courage to own her thoughts, desires, and life. She turned freedom into a way of living, not just an idea. She conformed neither to societal molds nor to others’ expectations. She showed that loving, thinking, and creating are not mutually exclusive — they actually nourish one another.
She reminds me that carving your own path, staying true to your inner voice, and embracing your freedom are the most creative acts of all. To me, she is the purest definition of freedom: not being afraid to be yourself.
And speaking of not being afraid to be yourself — I can’t go without mentioning my mother. With her remarkable and often untold life story, she’s the one who taught me exactly that lesson.
What motivates and inspires you?
One of my favorite poems is “On Living” by Nâzım Hikmet. It begins with the lines:
“Living is no laughing matter. You must live with great seriousness, like a squirrel, for example.”
Nature is exactly like that — its only job is to live. There’s no purpose beyond that. Maybe that’s why I always find my inspiration in nature. It’s where I feel those verses most deeply. I draw inspiration from the trees, flowers, bees, and squirrels whose only business is living. In nature, I reconnect with my own sense of purpose, I find calm, and I feel that quiet peace seep into my soul. That’s my greatest source of inspiration.
Nature, whose only purpose is to live, never leaves survival to chance. Sometimes it cracks through concrete just to bloom, sometimes it falls in the wind only to sprout again from the tiniest seed. That’s what motivates me most — the power to transform existing structures in harmony with nature’s flow. That’s what gets me out of bed every morning: the desire to make things better, guided by the resilience of life itself.
In your career so far what achievement are you most proud of?
As I mentioned earlier, for me, what matters isn’t where you end up but the journey you take to get there — so I can’t give a single, specific answer to what my “greatest achievement” is. To me, success means building a life that’s true to yourself and giving your best to whatever you do. Every case, every project where I’ve done my utmost — regardless of the outcome — is a success in my eyes.
Because pride doesn’t come from results; it comes from effort and dedication. Testing your limits, fighting for what you believe in, and sometimes even encouraging a client to be brave enough to take their next step — these are all things worth being proud of.
How do you manage your current work / life balance?
I can’t say I’ve perfected it — we can move on to the next question! (laughs)
But seriously, law isn’t a profession you can take off like a coat when you get home — especially when you’re running your own firm. Looking back 17 years ago, when I was just starting out, I can say I really struggled to find balance and often felt swept away by the demands of work.
Over the years, I’ve learned that balance isn’t a straight line — it’s about finding rhythm in your ups and downs. The younger Ceren used to put work before everything else, often ignoring her own needs in search of equilibrium. The Ceren I am today knows that a good professional life depends on having a healthy personal one.
A well-rested, happy, and peaceful Ceren is a far better lawyer. I maintain balance by listening to my inner voice and responding to my needs — I no longer separate my personal and professional life into rigid boxes. Instead, I see them as two interconnected pillars that support and enrich one another.
What advice would you give to female students who are about to enter the legal industry?
The first step to being good at any profession is to nourish yourself — and in law, having a strong vision is the key. So my first piece of advice to women students entering this field is: be open to new experiences and don’t be afraid to try different things.
This doesn’t only apply to your career — it applies to your personal life as well. Visit a country or a city you’ve never been to, try a sport you’ve never done before, read about someone’s inspiring life story. Because a lawyer’s success is measured by their ability to view situations from multiple perspectives.
They should always remember: working in law means working in a profession that’s entirely about people — but before representing any individual or institution, they must first represent the law itself. This requires the ability to look at every case from different angles and to know how to set healthy boundaries. Knowing which lines to cross — and where to stop — will become some of the most critical decisions they’ll ever make.
One of the hardest parts of this profession is that no one ever comes to you with good news. They come because they have a problem to solve. That can sometimes feel exhausting or overwhelming, especially for young lawyers. During those times, I’d advise them to take care of themselves, to do things that calm their mind and soul, and to seek support when needed.
Lastly, I want to add this: in law school, you’ll learn which legal articles to refer to in resolving disputes — but once you become a lawyer, judge, or prosecutor, life itself will teach you that the greatest tool in delivering justice is your conscience.