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

As an in-house lawyer, the number one challenge that has impacted me over the past year is the initial public offering (IPO) process of my company. This included navigating through the various legal requirements and regulations surrounding the company’s listing on the stock exchange, the sale of their shares on the stock market, and the process of going public.

During the IPO process, my company EYG GYO was able to break records in terms of creating approximately 900,000 new investors.

Successfully navigating this complex process required significant attention to detail, a deep understanding of legal and regulatory frameworks, and effective communication with various stakeholders. Despite the challenges, our team was able to support our company through a successful IPO, which has helped to strengthen our company’s position in the market.

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

As an in-house lawyer in Turkiye, I believe that there are two areas that are critical for us to focus on over the next few years: keeping up with the rapid advancements in technology and staying up-to-date with changes in legislation and judicial decisions.

The increasing use of technology in the legal industry has become more prevalent in recent years, and in-house lawyers need to keep pace with the latest developments to ensure they provide their companies with the most effective legal support possible. This includes using technology to streamline processes, enhance communication, and improve efficiency. In addition, staying up-to-date with changes in legislation and judicial decisions is crucial for ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, as well as minimising the risks of legal disputes.

Overall, in-house lawyers should strive to be proactive in embracing technological advancements and keeping abreast of legal developments to help their companies navigate the rapidly changing business landscape in Turkiye. By doing so, we can add more value to our companies by providing them with the legal support they need to stay ahead of the competition.

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?

One example of an innovation that I implemented in my legal team that improved our efficiency and effectiveness without incurring significant expenses was the implementation of a task prioritisation system based on the important and urgent criteria.

Previously, our team struggled with managing our workload effectively and often found ourselves rushing to complete tasks at the last minute. I realised that we needed a better way to prioritise our tasks and ensure that we were focusing our efforts on the most critical work.

To address this issue, I developed a training program for the team that introduced the important and urgent criteria and provided practical examples of how to apply them to our work. We also developed a simple matrix to help us visualise and prioritise our tasks based on these criteria.

The impact of this innovation was significant. By focusing our efforts on the most important and urgent tasks, we were able to complete our work more efficiently, meet deadlines consistently, and reduce stress and confusion among the team.

Overall, this innovation was a simple and cost-effective way to improve our performance and achieve our goals more effectively.