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

After graduating from Istanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Law at 2014, I began my professional career at a prominent telecommunications company in Turkey, where Ümit Akın, who had served as a manager and chief legal counsel for many years, was a founding partner of the law firm as a trainee lawyer under his guidance. The professional work style of the founding partner, who had previously worked as an in-house counsel, his broad perspective on legal issues, and his pragmatic decision-making skills encouraged me to start my career as an in-house counsel.

During the period when I was contemplating continuing my career as an in-house counsel, I recognized the importance of versatile legal knowledge and the ability to approach situations from a wide viewpoint. To gain this experience, I spent the first five years of my career working in leading law firms that offered comprehensive services across various sectors. When I felt that I had attained the desired proficiency, I shaped my career as an in-house counsel by accepting an offer from Doğuş Otomotiv, a market leader in the automotive sector. After the automotive sector, I had the opportunity to gain experience in the retail sector for about 2 years. Currently, I continue my career at one of the leader banks which is Garanti BBVA as an in-house counsel, focusing on consultancy and litigation.

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

Taking on the role of an in-house counsel requires being involved in the company’s operations, in contrast to attorneys working in law firms. This necessity places the responsibility on the in-house counsel to possess versatile legal knowledge and approach situations with a broad perspective.

Due to the direct involvement in the company’s activities, the duties and responsibilities are quite extensive. My daily tasks and responsibilities are always open to improvement according to the needs of the company and include providing legal guidance and advice to various departments within the company; offering interpretations of laws and regulations relevant to business operations; designing, reviewing, and negotiating contracts with external parties, including suppliers, clients, and partners; ensuring that contract terms align with company policies and legal standards; identifying potential legal risks and proposing risk mitigation strategies; and developing and implementing policies to protect the company’s legal interests.

I also play a role in monitoring changes in laws and regulations affecting the industry and ensuring compliance; conducting internal audits to verify compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; managing legal disputes and, if necessary, communicating with external legal counsel; developing strategies for dispute resolution and, where possible, preventing legal conflicts; providing consultancy on corporate governance matters and ensuring compliance with company laws; and assisting in the preparation and filing of necessary corporate documents.

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

During my tenure as an in-house counsel, I faced fundamental challenges, including disagreements with business units, especially in contract negotiations, due to triggering motivation differences, and the necessity of adapting company activities to regulations within a short period due to frequent changes in our country’s legal system.

To resolve conflicts with business units, it was essential to first identify the root cause of the issue. In this regard, I understood that the core of disagreements with business units lies in their focus on achieving commercial sales targets, while the legal department’s main goal is to mitigate risks. To overcome this challenge, throughout my professional life, I strove to collaboratively establish common goals with business units and clearly define the risks to be taken within the framework of these shared objectives, aiming to facilitate quick decision-making by the business units.

Regarding the other significant challenge of adapting to frequent changes in our country’s legal system, my strategy was to create a flexible, adaptable structure within the company’s operations as an in-house counsel. I achieved this by closely monitoring diverse agendas and initiating compliance efforts while legal changes were still in draft form, ensuring proactive adaptation before the changes were finalised.