Could you share with us the story of your path to becoming an in-house counsel? What motivated you to choose this career path?

From the very beginning of my career, I have been involved in large-scale projects realised in Türkiye on behalf of the national and multinational clients that are contractors, investors, suppliers, employers and shareholders. Being a part of such projects pushed me to specialise my practice in corporate and commercial law. In my opinion, in-house counsel should pay additional focus on the company’s benefits and risks. To do this effectively, you should rise through the ranks to manage and eliminate your company’s risks. Ever since I became an in-house counsel, there has been a significant improvement in my management and risk analysis skills which is a merit that I highly appreciate. During my career path, I had the honour to meet with CEOs, shareholders and senior executives of the foremost companies in Türkiye operation in the construction and energy sectors. Working with them gave me the chance to become knowledgeable about different sectors and it also helped me to gain different perspectives.

In your role as an in-house counsel, what are the main responsibilities and tasks you handle on a day-to-day basis?

LST Lojistik Servis Ticaret provides installation and maintenance services for the airport systems (such as baggage handling systems, explosive detection systems, passenger boarding bridges) in Türkiye as the exclusive agent and representative of the leading European and US firms. Due to my capacity as the sole legal counsel of the company, on the one hand I draft, revise and negotiate the service and agency agreements of the company, on the other hand I assist the departments on their daily operational and labour law matters. In this scope of task, I work one-to-one with the board of directors of the company and guide them at the project preparations including the reviewing tender documents and commercial and technical proposals. In addition to these tasks, I also handle the insurance policies that the company must have before the execution of projects. The wording of insurance policies must be checked case by case to cover all risks that may arise during the project. Compliance with personal data protection law and foreign corrupt practices act are so important for LST as it is the agent of foreign companies. Therefore, I try to stay up to date with the regulations published by both Türkiye and international officials. Briefly, I have many hats in the company as I am responsible for many different subjects.

What are some of the key challenges you have faced as a rising star in-house counsel, and how have you overcome them?

Although I am familiar with the operations at airports and the nature of aviation law, in my position as the legal counsel for a company that carries business at airports, the key challenges are quite different. Generally, lawyers at internal law firms solely look after their clients’ rights. However, I am the legal counsel of a company that works at Türkiye’s mainstream airports including İstanbul Airport as the exclusive agent of reputable foreign firms in the aviation and security sector. We add value to our business by building a trusted, transparent and cooperative relationship. One of our achievements is being a reliable agent. I think managing relationships, while minimising risk deriving from law principles, is essential. Therefore, I should also pay regard to the counterparties’ needs and interests when negotiating the agreements. I would not think this challenge will be a matter hard to cope with, but now, I also look out for the counterparties’ needs and interests in projects. This challenge helps me to effectively conclude agreements in amicable ways with both parties to feel safe themselves.