Energy

Aykut Bakirci advises domestic and international clients on a wide-range of Turkish law matters, with a particular focus on energy, regulatory aspects, privatisation and administration.

Mesut Çakmak’s practice focuses on advising clients on local and international commercial and financial transactions and disputes, involving, among others, strategic sectors such as power, oil & gas, mining, transportation, defense and public health. He has represented lenders and sponsors in the development and financing of many major projects in these sectors, including recent large scale PPPs in Turkey. Mesut’s practice also extends to the representation of his clients in mergers and acquisitions, banking and capital markets transactions in the aforementioned sectors. Mesut is also a recognized legal expert in local and international arbitration as well as administrative and commercial litigation. He has represented clients before local and appellate courts in highly complex disputes relating to corporate law, construction law, company law, contractual conflicts, product liability, tax litigation, and regulatory and administrative law matters. Mesut has also represented investors in international arbitrations pursuant to various arbitral procedures, including ISTAC, ICC and ICSID rules.

Partner

Yesim Bezen is a founding partner of Bezen & Partners. She assists international clients in a wide variety of transactions, most notably in banking, finance, asset and project finance transactions.

Managing partner

Partner Okan Demirkan has significant experience in arbitration and litigation, energy and infrastructure, ethics and compliance. Okan has been heavily involved in arbitration proceedings concerning major infrastructure projects and has successfully represented several international clients as well as local entities, both in institutional and in ad hoc arbitration proceedings concerning disputes arising from build-operate-transfer (BOT) model investments, share purchase agreements, shareholders agreements, EPC contracts, sales contracts and licensing contracts. With significant experience of more than 20 years in international arbitration, he has been extensively involved in numerous ICC, DIS, SAC, LCIA, ISTAC and UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings where he serves as counsel, arbitrator or expert witness. He also regularly acts as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator or co-arbitrator in institutional as well as ad hoc arbitrations. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and the Swiss Arbitration Ambassador to Turkey. In addition to international arbitration, Okan represents domestic and international clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including commercial disputes, employment-related disputes, intellectual property claims, administrative disputes, enforcement and set-aside lawsuits, as well as criminal proceedings in relation to white-collar crimes at all levels of the Turkish courts. Between 2004 and 2010, Okan was extensively involved in all legal issues surrounding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline Project (BTC), where he played a key role in regulatory, real estate and litigation issues. In addition to BTC, Okan has advised clients in connection with the Nabucco Gas Pipeline and the Samsun-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline. In 2011, Okan took an active role in the Shah Deniz Stage 2 Natural Gas Sales Project, where he led the KDK team advising on the project’s legal structure in Turkey, including intergovernmental agreements, Turkey’s natural gas market legislation and on related commercial and public international law matters. In 2012, Okan led the KDK team in the Firm’s key role in the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP). In this multibillion-dollar project, the KDK team drafted the Host Government Agreement and negotiated it along with the Intergovernmental Agreement. Okan Demirkan is a prominent figure in the area of ethics and compliance. He has conducted several investigations related to various regulatory and anti-bribery / anti-corruption allegations. Among the Firm’s clients, he represents various leading individuals, multinational and domestic companies, such as Fatih Terim and the Terim Family, Porsche, ArcelorMittal RZK, Hepsiburada, DHMI (Republic of Turkey, General Directorate of State Airports Authority), Bahrain Middle East Bank, Bedeschi, Coca Cola İçecek, Deloitte, OMBI SRL, XCMG, Dikey Vitamin, Liebherr, SOCAR AQS, Transamine, AS Mintos Marketplace,  Mak 4 You, X Trade Brokers, Atlas Ship Supply, Abdi İbrahim, Agence France-Presse, Alsim Alarko, Arempa, Galatasaray, Gates Corporation, Global Founders Capital, Hinduja Bank, Inveon, LR Health & Beauty Systems, Marelli, Mitsubishi Corporation, Odea Bank, Oliver Samwer, RAY Sigorta, Roxcel, Ströer SE, Terumo Europe, Upfield, VHV Allgemeine Sigorta, Vinmar and Vossloh AG.

Mustafa's practice focuses on energy and infrastructure projects, and banking and finance transactions. He has represented domestic and international lenders, sponsors and project developers in the development, financing, construction and operation of a number of large-scale energy, transportation and infrastructure projects. He also advises some of the major players in the payment services industry.

Founding Partner

Partner

Partner

Partner

Deniz Tuncel is among the leaders in our Energy, M&A, and Data Protection practice groups. Mr. Tuncel has a personal affinity for Asia and was seconded to the cross border transactional practice of one of the most prestigious law firms in Japan. Mr. Tuncel has acted as lead Turkish counsel in some of the landmark M&A transactions that have occurred in Turkey in both regulated and non-regulated sectors. In addition to his M&A work, he also has decades of experience in energy infrastructure development projects where he has been involved in every phase of investments in the field of energy, from project development through the transfer of the investment or decommissioning. His insight into the regulatory framework governing the energy market and its environmental impact makes a substantial difference. Some of his work included one of Turkey’s largest cross-border asset swap deals involving a vertically integrated power generation and distribution group, the sale of the Turkish business of a major international oil and gas company to another, and representation of the project company in what will ultimately be the largest cross border natural gas pipeline in the region.