Yayla Altufan Konukçu

Yayla Altufan Konukçu Attorney Partnership (‘YAK’) is a full-service law firm with broadly demonstrated expertise and experience in a wide range of practice areas.  Having competences and insights in very diversified areas of law and business sectors, YAK offers its clients high quality legal advice coupled with practical and effective solutions. YAK acts for a wide range of local and international clients in a variety of business sectors including corporations, financial institutions, investors and private clients.

YAK strives to understand the clients’ needs and delivers advice and support in the form and content they require. The firm also provides a full commitment to each and every client at partner level and with sufficient resources at each stage of the relationship. With a vibrant and fully experienced and equipped team, coupled with a very sound knowledge of the law with a deep understanding of commercial and business matters, YAK offers the highest quality legal advice and legal insights as well as providing solutions to most complex legal matters.

Areas of Practice

YAK advises and represents domestic and international clients in connection with the full breadth of Turkish law-related matters across banking and finance, capital markets, competition law, corporate and commercial, dispute resolution, employment, energy and infrastructure, ethics and compliance, insurance, mergers and acquisitions, personal data privacy, real estate and construction.

Banking, Finance & Capital Markets: Our banking, finance and capital markets department has, amongst others, significant experience and expertise in the area of project finance, ECA financings, acquisition finance, re-financing and re-structuring.  The team is also very knowledgeable with years of know-how in infrastructure, energy, mining, oil and gas sectors. In addition to the banking and finance practice, the team is also specialized in capital markets, advising the clients on very strategic and complex matters in terms of regulations and structuring.  The team is known by its clients for its responsiveness, reliance, wealth of expertise and experience as well as other the relevant market players.  Team members have deep market knowledge, are fully business oriented, benefiting from in-debt financial and business knowledge. Acting in the majority of the large sized PPP projects including highways, bridges and tunnels, the team has been a pioneer in development of PPP projects and their financings in Turkey. Additionally, YAK handles innovative matters for large clients, including banks, financial institutions and corporations, and provides advice on a full range of legal and regulatory issues.

Commercial, Corporate and M&A: YAK advises a number of major companies with the primary focus on the end-to-end advice during mergers and acquisitions. The team’s deep knowledge, and wide perspective achieved with expertise and experience, enables it to act on transactions and legal matters with full legal competency and business-oriented approach. The team also represents many international clients in Turkey during their entry into Turkish market and also exit transactions, in addition to assisting these clients on all sorts of legal and compliance matters throughout their entire operational business life in Turkey. The team is very well experienced in a broad range of corporate law practice areas, including but not limited to contract negotiations, corporate governance and compliance, real estate, data privacy rules, anti-bribery and corruption matters and market regulations. Accordingly, YAK is able to be familiar with any sorts of challenges in different sectors, and this allows YAK to provide its clients with concrete solutions particular to their problems.

Dispute Resolution: YAK’s dispute resolution team handles every type of dispute from complex litigation to administrative disputes and mediation, offering full dedication and expertise at all stages of these processes from strategizing to actual legal representation.   The team makes a difference by providing efficient, precise representation and advice to clients having the competency to understand their business priorities and goals. YAK specializes in representing global manufacturers or local distributors, in disputes in relation to distribution, international clients in many unjust competition disputes and local clients in expropriation lawsuits. YAK also has a debt collection department which acts for reputable banks as well as corporations.

Real Estate and Construction: YAK advises its clients in every stage of construction and real property development and the team supports its clients throughout the project lifecycle. The team advices on target-property investigations and due diligence before relevant official entities, and on drafting and negotiation of a wide range of agreements, including but not limited to construction agreements, sale and purchase agreements, management agreements, easement rights, usufruct rights, and lease agreements, construction agreements, architectural and engineering service agreements, management and operating agreements. YAK has extensive experience in and represents local and international clients in all different type of construction projects including with high complexity and in international scale.

Data Privacy: With its deep experience in data protection compliance projects YAK guides its clients through data protection legislation as it relates to any aspect of their business. For the ultimate target of client’s compliance with the Turkish data protection legislation YAK offers its clients tailor-made personal data privacy compliance services including establishing sustainable personal data privacy management system in accordance with the clients’ organizational structure and demands; organizing awareness training for clients; preparing all required documents including but not limited to policies and procedures required by the relevant legislation and revising clients’ agreements for ensuring their compliance with the legislation.

Ethics and Compliance: YAK advices a large local and international clientele on all aspects of Turkish and global anti-corruption and anti-bribery regulations.  YAK provides legal services, such as the preparation of internal codes of conduct, corporate compliance and ethics policies. YAK’s team is also very active in the area handling investigations, individual and/or corporate cases of bribery, fraudulent tender practices.

Employment: YAK advises on stand-alone labour law matters and handles day-to-day employments, re-organizations, terminations, disciplinary action, occupational health and safety, litigation and immigration issues.  Advice includes negotiating and drafting employment-related contracts, to unilaterally or bilaterally terminating employment relationships, remuneration, benefits and pension, disciplinary procedures, immigration and work permits, drafting and implementing human resources guidelines, codes of conduct, policies and procedures, support in employee or workplace transfers, M&A transactions and restructuring procedures. YAK also represents clients in various labor law disputes including labor union related claims.