On November 21, 2023, corporate/M&A and private equity experts from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkiye, and Ukraine sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the key developments in the field over the past decade.

KP Law Managing Partner Onur Kucuk talks about the evolution of the sector and their role as legal advisors in Turkiye over the last 10 years.

Inflation rates, while high across Europe, have been particularly making headlines in Turkiye. Yalcin Babalioglu Kemahli in cooperation with CMS Managing Partner Done Yalcin, Ergun Law Firm Partner Lara Sezerler, Celepci Law in cooperation with Schoenherr Office Managing Partner Levent Celepci, KP Law Managing Partner Onur Kucuk, and Guleryuz & Partners Partner Zahide Altunbas Sancak discuss the current outlook.

Cashless and contactless interactions have dramatically increased over the last few years, driven by several factors, such as the increasing adoption of smartphones, the growth of e-commerce, and the need for contactless payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital transactions have become commonplace and straightforward daily for many users in every field. Most consumers switch from traditional payments with plastic cards to online payments via smartphone apps.

After the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey announced that it will complete the first CBDC tests at the end of 2022, it was announced that the blockchain-based digital identity application would be implemented in the “Digital Turkey 2023 First Meeting” held under the chairmanship of Vice President Fuat Oktay at the Presidential Complex in the first days of 2023. With the login system that will work within the scope of the e-wallet application, it will be possible to log in to the e-Government with digital identities created in the blockchain network.

Paksoy has advised Dogan Sirketler Grubu Holding and members of the Aytemiz family on the sale of Aytemiz Akaryakit Dagitim to Tatneft.

The major discussion points in Turkey have been drastically different – before and after the earthquake – with the upcoming elections gaining new importance, according to KP Law Managing Partner Onur Kucuk.

Only one group ever came and never went away: Lawyers.
This is because if the lawyers went, so would the games industry. (Richard A. Bartle)

Did You Know that, according to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, two CEE lawyers have already authored or co-authored eight thought leadership articles published on the CEE Legal Matters website this year, more than anyone else in the region?

Following the EU, the UK is also trying to provide a safer environment for investors with regulations.

Would you ever want to see digitally, Istanbul waking up to a rainy and gloomy day, an alien race that came to visit our species from a galaxy billion light year away, New York City under the post-apocalyptic acid rain, a peanut with a micro-scale civilization on it, the realistic portraits of people who actually never existed and no matter how far you go in the horizons of your imagination, a concrete and visual reflection of all your ideas?

Metaverse emerges as an "other universe" that invites the masses to live, interact, and trade in it. The parts of this universe are virtual reality, the internet, and advanced technologies. Users are no longer in front of the screen, they can enter this world in person. This can be possible in two ways for now; This world we call avatar requires a digital twin and virtual reality glasses. Users may think that they are chatting with their avatars, but can they feel like they are drinking coffee in a real environment? Are the two similar things?

The issue of how to ensure the longevity of family businesses remains as topical all over the world as it is in Turkey. When we look at the statistics, we see that family businesses have an extremely high percentage in Turkey as well as all over the world.

The Capital Markets Board ("CMB") updated some amounts subject to revaluation within the scope of capital markets legislation for the year 2023 with the Capital Markets Board Bulletin dated 30/12/2022 and numbered 2022/74 published pursuant to its decision dated 29/12/2022 and numbered 77/1900.

As investors continue to seek a safe haven after the collapse of crypto exchanges, cryptocurrency companies have begun to resort to new ways to restore confidence. The most important issue in the market is whether cryptocurrency companies have enough assets to cover their customers' funds.

Mergers and acquisitions transactions, which has reached a global record level of 5.9 trillion dollars in 2021, are considered as one of the legal transactions with the highest potential for disputes, even though its grounds for disputes are striven to be reduced or at least brought to a foreseeable level by detailed agreements. Agreements and afterwards transactions that comply with the intentions of the parties may result in unintended consequences later. Due to geopolitical tensions, soaring inflation, turmoil in finance and energy sectors, more disputes have been arisen after the closing of M&A transactions comparing to last year. That is with respect to Berkeley Research Group’s third-annual M&A Disputes Report (“Report”), which is prepared with contributions from some of the world’s top lawyers, private equity professionals and leading experts. Report brings forth a broad perspective, on how the current market environment has changed the essence of disputes.

COVID-19 is over – well, almost over. We are now left with the aftermath of a baby boom, some Bored Apes, and the Metaverse. All these new phenomena that surged during the pandemic eventually turned their attention to law firms, for wide-ranging legal considerations associated with all kinds of communication, from the internet, to e-commerce, to OTT, and telecommunications. Technology, media, and telecommunications, otherwise known as TMT, are now the fastest-moving areas.

"In 10 years you won’t go to meetings – you’ll digitally teleport to them." Meta Founder, Mark Zuckerberg