About

As one of Turkey’s leading private healthcare provider, Acıbadem Healthcare Group must negotiate intensive relationships with different types of public and private institutions. Led by group legal adviser Umur Yaşar, the 10-strong legal team is split into three units following a recent restructure: employment law, litigation and commercial law. This structure not only brings efficiency, but also allows the team to focus on litigation cases, corporate transactions and labour law cases. The team was heavily involved in the acquisition of Bulgaria’s largest healthcare group, Tokuda, for €65m in 2016 and City Group for €11m through its Netherlands-based subsidiary to become the biggest private healthcare provider in Bulgaria. These were the biggest foreign investments of Acıbadem to date, adding four hospitals and four medical centres to its portfolio. The team has also had a significant impact on the day-to-day running of the healthcare group. Working closely with the patient services department and medical directorate of the group, the consent forms required by Turkish law have been simplified to increase patient satisfaction. As Yaşar explains ‘the new forms offer the patients a better service and a clear understanding of the hospital’s processes’. The rest of the team is getting to grips with the recent data protection law to safeguard its patients and 17,000 employees. As the team fulfils its role in the various functions, the value being added by the legal team is creating a corporate culture in the group that is more inclusive of the department’s input. As Yaşar adds, ‘after our opinions and recommendations to the different departments of the companies, we realised acceleration in the company regarding the legal consultation’.