Turkish lawyer Sinem Ugur has joined Metro AG in Dusseldorf as the company's Head of Competition & Compliance.

Norton Rose Fulbright's affiliated law firm in Turkey Pekin Bayar Mizrahi has hired former Pekin & Pekin Partner Maral Celepyan Avsar.

Metaverse is not a product or a game. It was not created by a single company. Rather, it is a worldwide 3D network where companies, information and communication tools are comprehensive and interoperable. - Prof. Scott Galloway, University of New York

CEE Legal Matters readers will likely be familiar with Patricia Gannon as one of the founders of Karanovic & Partners. Since her withdrawal from the firm (reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 21, 2020), Gannon ran her own "holistic strategic advisory business" (as reported on October 12, 2020) and, recently, she announced she is working on a new social media app for lawyers – Platforum 9. We caught up with her to learn more about her new project.

A vibrant technological ecosystem, driving massive amounts of M&A transactions in Turkey and continuing the trend of 2021 well into this year, is the most important recent takeaway, according to Nazali M&A Partner Nilay Duran.

The Turkish Competition Board’s (the “Board”) decision on whether undertakings that are active in the welding sector violated Article 4 of the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Law No. 4054”) by way of determining their prices together has been published.[1]

Former BTS & Partners Partner Okan Arican has joined Dentons’ Turkish affiliate Balcioglu Selcuk Ardiyok Keki Attorney Partnership as a Partner in the firm's Corporate and M&A practice.

On March 21, 2022, Member States of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) approved a comprehensive set of amendments to the ICSID’s flagship rules for resolving disputes between foreign investors and their host States, after a five-year long process. This marks the fourth time the ICSID rules have been updated. Also, this is the most extensive review until now, as also explicitly acknowledged by the ICSID. The amendments will come into effect on July 1, 2022 and will apply to arbitrations commenced from that date onwards.

A team led by former Akol Law Partners Omer Gokhan Ozmen and Gunes Yalcin has spun off to launch OzmenYalcin in Istanbul.

“Banking is essential, banks are not…”(Bill Gates, 1994)

In Turkey, digitalization in corporate law practice has been significantly and gradually increasing in the last few years. Provision of digital signature declarations through the Central Registration System (“MERSIS”), making foreign direct investment notifications through the Electronic Incentive Practices and Foreign Capital System (“E-TUYS”) and receiving electronic notifications from the Social Security Institution (“SSI”) are some of the recent examples and developments of this effort. In this article, we will evaluate these current developments and explain significant points that should be taken into consideration for efficiency.

On April 1, Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka announced that Havas Ground Handling’s acquisition of MZLZ Ground Handling Services (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 22, 2022) has closed.

The phrase "between husband and wife" in Article 278/3 of the Bankruptcy and Enforcement Code No. 2004 [“BEC”] was annulled by the Constitutional Court on March 22, 2022. The annulment will take effect 9 months after its publication, on December 22, 2022.

Former White & Case associated firm in Turkey GKC Partners Partner Ceren Sen has joined the EBRD as a Principal Counsel. 

On February 25, four leading lawyers in Turkey sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the Turkish technology sector, its recent developments, and the technology sector-related regulatory landscape.

On March 4, 2022 the Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”) published the Communiqué No. 2022/2 on the Amendment of Communiqué No. 2010/4 on the Mergers and Acquisitions Subject to the Approval of the Competition Board (“Amendment Communiqué”). The Amendment Communiqué introduces certain new regulations concerning the Turkish merger control regime, which will fundamentally affect the notifiabiliy analysis of the transactions and the merger control notifications submitted to the Authority.

Cagdas Umut Vardar has joined Sanli & Partners as a Name Partner with the firm becoming Vardar Sanli.

With the amendment dated November 24, 2021 to the Bankruptcy and Enforcement Code No. 2004 [“BEC”] the sale of seized assets was to be conducted fully in an electronic environment. However, it was provided that the implementation of this provision would begin with the adoption of the relevant regulation.