About

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years?

Union and unfair competition cases in Turkey, tax litigation Morocco, new market expansions to Algeria, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana, merger notifications in Turkey and South Africa as well as criminal prosecutions in Egypt and Turkey.

What will be the main focus for the company in the next 12 months and how do you intend to assist with this?

Avon is in the process of merging with Brazilian based global cosmetics and beauty company Natura, therefore the main focus will be ensuring the integration is planned and implemented thoroughly and in compliance with all relevant regulations in the Turkey, Middle East and Africa (MEA) cluster. The merger and its administrative requirements need to be supported with a strong change management programme. As a leader as well as a lawyer, my priority will be to ensure my team is motivated and ready to implement the new corporate and cultural changes.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

It is very difficult to comment on this without being cliché, however to me “the will drives the success”. If your intention – as an in-house lawyer – is to solve business’ problems, you are already ahead of the game. A solution-oriented lawyer tries to understand the issue. In order to understand you should listen, while listening you build bonds, while trying to create solutions you demonstrate commitment and all through the process it’s inevitable that you build a very strong relationship. In a nutshell, feel your inner ambition to help the business to solve a problem and be open with your clients.

What “legal tech” products do you currently utilise, and do you foresee implementing more of these in the near future?

We use computer assisted legal research services in our end markets. It is interesting to see how the industry changes so rapidly. I am currently exploring regional legal research services, unfortunately MEA is very diversified and unlike my colleagues in the EU, EE, CEE etc it is not possible to have a single tech solution, although there are certainly developments towards better content in those service websites. Also as the legal industry grows and matures, more law firms invest in their intellectual and academic capacities. Those all feed into the general legal landscape of the country. I am optimistic that we will be able to see more integrated, technology driven legal solutions in the near future.

Have any new laws, regulations or judicial decisions greatly impacted your company’s business or your legal practice?

In this region, the chaos is constant and thus all successful businesses are equipped to bend and flex their tactics and strategies accordingly. We have faced major challenges due to changes in Egypt’s customs regulations and practices, and we are still utilising our legal and corporate resources to find a sustainable solution. We survived the implementation of Turkish Personal Data Protection Law like all of my colleagues, and I am sure they will agree with me that it has been a heavy lifting exercise for big consumer companies. We had a favourable tax litigation verdict in Morocco, which was a great relief as it was challenging an existential part of our business model.

What do you feel are the most effective techniques for getting the most out of external counsel, in terms of how to instruct them?

I am a believer of open communication, I don’t assume that the counterpart has understood the question or concern; my main aim is to get the best possible advice therefore I try to ensure that the issue is crystal clear for all of us. I always prefer to have the first meeting face-to-face or through telepresence (if physical presence is not possible) and involve the internal client so that we can also explain the end state that we want to achieve.

For me the integral part of a “good service” is timely advice, I always make sure that we got the service within a duration and definitely before the business deadline -to allow us digest, discuss and even amend the advice if and when necessary.

FOCUS ON:

As we are beginning 2020 I am still working on my new year resolutions. This year rather than resolutions I allowed myself to ask questions to my inner self.  I decided to share those questions as they might also resonate with the readers of this page. Have a wonderful year!

I think of myself as a lawyer committed to high quality service, counselling and representation and strive to maintain high standards. I regard myself a business person whose aim is to create a sustainable, compliant and efficient work environment. This is a state and a goal that you work for every day. The minute you get there, opens the new level of complexity. Therefore to be grounded and stay focused on my goals I try to reinvent myself as a lawyer by asking and responding honestly.

What defines who you are as an individual? Your name, race, religion, horoscope sign? Maybe, but more than these; what you do, how you behave, how you perform your daily tasks, how you interact with others and many little things like these define who you are. Do you really know who you are?

Once you realise who you are, comes the second big question: Who do you want to be? If life has a purpose -as all religious beliefs suggest – and if that purpose is to create a better version of yourself (as at least my religion orders) why should your professional self be immune from this continuous improvement challenge? Why would you refrain from stretching yourself to achieve a new height that you’ve never reached before? Once you feel the sweet taste of success, after closing a complex matter with full satisfaction of your client, won’t you get addicted to it? How do you teach your child to go that extra mile if you are barely meeting the finish line? Do you, sometimes weirdly, realise how fast hardship grows you up? What do you do when you think you have been asked to accomplish a mission impossible?

The list [of questions] is endless, and so is my passion for excellence and constant development.