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 graduation, like many of my peers, I set out to gain experience in law firms. For six years, I worked in two top-tier law firms based in Istanbul, Türkiye. The first firm’s main area of expertise was dispute resolution, particularly international arbitration, while the second firm’s field was construction and infrastructure, and energy law.

During my time with these law firms, I had the opportunity to get involved in arbitral proceedings for dispute resolutions arising from construction, infrastructure, energy, and international trade, among others. My senior lawyers and partners provided me with the opportunity to work on construction and infrastructure projects and EPCs on the FIDIC Rainbow Suite, for which I will always be thankful.

Additionally, I focused on corporate law, energy law, and contracts law. In this respect, I drafted various types of contracts. However, my focus was those relating to energy and natural resources, as well as construction and infrastructure. Therefore, construction contracts and EPCs were my fellow travellers. I had many overtime hours, and I represented numerous clients in various sectors, including energy and natural resources, construction and infrastructure, and aviation, among others.

The experience I acquired in the firms gave me a valuable perspective on dispute management. Consequently, I was cautious when drafting, negotiating, and managing contracts, to avoid any potential financial losses in dispute resolution. This experience prepared me to transition into an in-house counsel role.

Two key factors motivated this professional transition. Firstly, the ability to focus solely on one client and sector allowed me to maximise my efforts and potential. Secondly, the promise of a better work-life balance, particularly important as a newlywed lawyer. These factors aligned with a job at a French energy company, where I gained valuable experience under the head of legal and the CEO. This paved the way for my employment at Enerjisa Enerji Üretim, one of Türkiye’s largest energy companies, as a senior legal counsel and compliance officer.

Looking back on my career, I can honestly say that moving into an energy company was the right decision. From the start of my legal education, I aimed to specialise as a business-minded lawyer within a particular area.

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

In my current company, I represent two sides of the profession. Firstly, I work as a senior legal counsel, reporting to the head of legal and compliance. In this role, my focus is to provide legal assistance in respect of investments, either by way of M&As or through procurement and installation of power plants on renewable energy. My duty also entails the provision of legal opinions and support for the contracts in effect, including contract management for various types of contracts of the company carrying out business on power generation, sales of power, natural gas, and other derivative products.

Secondly, I act as a compliance officer, responsible for conducting all activities within the scope of the compliance programme of the company. Within this scope, along with the head of legal and compliance, I am the main addressee for compliance matters. I draft, issue and revise compliance policies where required. Additionally, I conduct both virtual and in-class compliance training for the company’s employees.

As a day-to-day activity, I provide assistance to the employees and managers regarding their compliance queries, which includes regulatory compliance, ethical compliance, and sanctions-export control compliance. I also regularly monitor the company’s awareness of compliance matters and try to follow best practices from other companies and evolving international standards for compliance issues.

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

Recognition by a well-reputed authority such as The Legal 500 usually gratifies a legal professional since we are usually the secret heroes of a business or project due to the nature of our role. We are not the owners of the project, and therefore when the spotlight turns on us, the legal professional’s self-belief becomes manifest and it encourages them to succeed further. With this in mind, recognition also increases expectations in the eyes of third parties, since professional life is like an infinite ladder and there are always more steps.

To be honest, since my listing in the GC Powerlist Türkiye 2023, I have not encountered a challenge different from the previous ones which I had difficulty overcoming. However, if my intuitions do not delude me, I feel that there will be hard challenges that I will face in the coming days, and I am keen on dealing with such challenges and difficulties since they constitute keys for a successful career.