Team size: Six

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

After the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and its unexpected and unpleasant effects and consequences were the biggest challenges not only for petrochemical sector, which is the main operational field of Petkim Petrokimya, that I work for as group coordinator senior legal counsel, but also for every industry all over the world over the past years.

As known, on the one hand, sanctions against Russia and retaliation by Russia led to a fluctuation in energy prices; on the other hand, logistic problems in the region deeply affected the petrochemical industry. There is no doubt that the number of commercial and contractual disputes has dramatically increased, as a result, some companies have been unable to fulfill their contractual obligations in this period. We have experienced many force majeure claims and contractual disputes. Although this year was challenging and exceptional for our industry as in many other sectors, thanks to the foresighted and critical approach of my teammates and other colleagues from past to present, we have overcome this challenging period and minimised its unexpected negative effects successfully.

In your opinion, what areas should in-house lawyers focus on over the next few years to prove value to their organisations in Türkiye?

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the popularity of alternative dispute resolutions. There is no doubt that formal dispute resolution processes are slow and not always suitable for international disputes. As a result of the globalisation trend in the world, especially the arbitration process which is one of the most common dispute resolutions become popular by means of its significant advantages and satisfying results observed especially in the field of international businesses. Therefore, I believe that in-house lawyers should focus on alternative dispute resolution areas, especially in arbitration to prove value to their organisations.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

I have been supporting the usage of legal tech products that would improve my legal team’s performance for many years. Consequently, we have received positive outcomes, especially during the pandemic period. Most recently, we have introduced our own litigation management program with the support and collaboration of other departments of our company. The purpose of this case management program is to carry out all legal actions related to litigation proceedings together with in-house lawyers and outsource legal consultants. Thus, I think we have made a very important contribution to litigation processes without incurring any cost.