Interview with: Att. Dr. Cigdem Ayozger Ongun, Founder, Managing Partner

What do you see as the main points that differentiate SRP-Legal from your competitors?

As SRP-Legal, true to its name, in SRP-Legal, the S stands for Strategy, the R stands for Regulation, and the P stands for Policy. Although many law offices stand on their founding partners’ names, I always aimed to establish a law office where the most qualified and distinguished lawyers and professionals gather for the same vision. In order to succeed this vision, the law office was named as SRP-Legal. Under SRP-Legal, we have been providing consultancy services to clients, not only in legal matters but also in regulation strategies and regulation policies.

SRP-Legal is a law firm operating in the unique areas of expertise such as Technology Law, IT and Telecoms Law, Competition Law, FinTech Law, Data Protection and Privacy Law. In other words, SRP-Legal prefers to operate in niche legal matters that do not fall within the expertise of many law offices. Therefore, I attach great importance to being in constant development to stay up to date in the mentioned areas of expertise; I also put a considerable amount of effort into creating opportunities for my colleagues working for SRP-Legal to improve themselves and significantly invest in human resources.

Within the scope of the legal consultancy services offered by SRP-Legal especially including the areas such as technology, blockchain, FinTech, AI, data protection and competition; SRP-Legal is keen to build business partnerships with the experts who have either economical or technological knowledge and competence within the same subjects.

SRP-Legal embraces a flexible structure in providing services according to the clients’ service requirements and needs. The basic approach we have set for SRP-Legal is to first understand the client and then design the service that is appropriate and specific to the identified needs of the client. In this context, the client experience processes rendered by SRP-Legal are defined as the “unique client experience” and carried out in accordance with satisfaction analysis of which client is happy and satisfied. In this sense, for instance, even in the pandemic period, the demands of some of our clients to work face-to-face are met despite the existence of all kinds of technological opportunities, and in that way, the highest possible level of satisfaction is provided.

My academic references provide me to involve in the drafting stage of many laws and regulations in Turkey. Since 2005, I have been involved in the design, development, policy determination, and enactment stages of technology-oriented legislation studies in Turkey as an expert and participated in the commission meetings at the Parliament mainly as the spokeswomen of the industries.

I am an active individual mostly at the management level in many NGOs. Accordingly, I have the privilege to understand and prioritize the needs of the industries that are member to these NGOs and design, consult, draft law, and regulations in line with the expectations of the relevant industries.

As the founding member and a board member of the Blockchain Turkey Platform (“BCTR”), I have been leading the legal, regulatory studies and governmental relations on behalf of BCTR as the President of the Law, Regulation and Governmental Relations Committee of BCTR. I succeeded to set up the Data Protection and Technology Law Commission at Turkish Industry & Businessmen Association (TUSIAD), with the TUSIAD Board of Directors’ support, where she chairs. I also ensured the establishment of sub – committees under the committee, which carried out studies specific to the topics such as Fintech, AI, and Insurtech Laws and Regulations. I am the only Independent Member of the FinTech Industry Council at the Turkish Union of Chambers & Commodity Exchange (TOBB). In addition, I am the Founding Board and Ethics Committee Member of the Women in Technology Association (Wtech), Board Member of the International Women Forum (IWF) Turkey, and Member of the Turkish Informatics Industry Association (TUBISAD), Turkey Informatics Foundation (TBV), International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and Endeavour Turkey’s Consultant Mentor.

As SRP-Legal, we have been setting the rules of the game in Turkey. Due to my expertise and knowledge on Fintech issues, I have been advising to the Presidency of Turkish Republic, Finance Office, and the only independent member of the FinTech Industry Council at the Turkish Union of Chambers & Commodity Exchange (TOBB) where only the governmental and FinTech institutions have memberships.

The knowledge and experience gained thorough all these activities made SRP-Legal team preferable for its clients.

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

Today, technology, digitalization, and AI applications show their effects in every industry and have become widespread. With the effect of technology, companies must transform their marketing strategies, business processes, products, and services, and even personnel management depending on technology. With this effect, it is not possible to talk about a sector or business area that has not been affected by technology.

Therefore, in the past, only technology companies needed the workforce of legal experts, but today, due to this technology-oriented influence, the need for technology law experts has arisen in each industry.

In this context, we designed and sponsored the “Young Conversion Training Program – Technology Law Certificate Program” which is co-organized by the Women in Technology Association and the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations. The 10-week Technology Law Certificate Program included the modules of,

• Personal Data Protection Law,
• Artificial Intelligence Law,
• Impact of Competition in Technology Law,
• Financial Technologies Law,
• E-commerce Law, Insurance Technologies Law,
• Blockchain Law,
• Technology Law in Capital Markets,
• Electronic Communication Law,
• Digitalization and Sector Analysis.

We foresee that, the flexible and hybrid working model which includes both remote working and working from office will be applicable in many industries. SRP-Legal has already integrated technology to its in-house processes which enabled SRP-Legal to adapt more easily to the hybrid model before the COVID-19 pandemic.

We invest in people by providing opportunities to enable accreditation of our employees regardless of their seniority, in the fields of law in which SRP-Legal provides its services. We value on creating a diverse portfolio of people with different ideas and competencies.

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

As SRP-Legal, distinguishes from other law offices with its approaches both to the clients and cases. While providing legal consultancy and litigation services, SRP-Legal uses its expertise in building up regulatory strategies and making policies to leverage the content of the services with an integrated approach. SRP-Legal supports any case with its strategic vision and its policy approach.

In this sense, for example, we consider filing a lawsuit as the last option and work on other options to conclude the disputes in amicable ways. This approach enables SRP-Legal to offer clients more effective, practical, and short-term solutions, which is highly appreciated by clients and is among the most common positive feedbacks about SRP-Legal.

In addition, SRP-Legal’s participations in the NGOs enables us to take the pulse of the market dynamics and to keep up to date. In this way, we can provide our clients with more comprehensive and up-to-date consultancy services in accordance with their needs.

Thanks to the “unique client experience” processes that we have adopted within SRP-Legal, “tailor made” services which are directly suited to the needs of our clients are offered. This provides client satisfaction.

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

Technology makes us and our ways of doing business flexible, versatile, and phygital. Especially with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic communication and cooperation with our clients became more technological-based. Using high-tech standards in the business processes within SRP-Legal, provided the team the opportunity to work practically and rapidly.

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

1. SRP-Legal provided legal advice regarding the legal and regulatory structuring and modelling for the world’s leading technology platform operator including gaming, messaging, payment facilitation, and entertainment facilities.

The Client Company wishes to enter the Turkish market to operate in payment services. The most distinctive feature of the Turkish payment services market is that it is highly regulated, and the authorization/permission mechanism established to operate in this market requires the operation of a very comprehensive process and the completion of legal requirements.

In principle, the relevant company carries out its activities at the global level through 3 basic business models and the company wants to start its activities in Turkey with one of these 3 business models. These business models were examined by SRP-Legal, but it was evaluated that all these three business models were either not applicable or extremely difficult and inefficient to comply with, in terms of the applicable laws and regulations in Turkey. When this was the case, a new business model has been designed by SRP-Legal to enter the Client Company into the Turkish market in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations. Thus, a profitable business model was created in favor of the Client Company, and this business model, which was designed from the very beginning by eliminating the risks of regulation, was directly approved by the relevant institution. The Client Company continues its activities in the Turkish FinTech market with the developments made on the basis of the business model created by SRP-Legal.

2. The Client is a professional organization representing payment and electronic money institutions operating in Turkey. The client was suffering anti-competitive behaviors of Turkey’s one of the largest private banks (“Bank”).

The Bank had an exemption decision from the Turkish Competition Authority regarding relicensing agreements, and collaborations of its credit card executed with other banks that operate in Turkey. However, these relicensing agreements and collaborations had exclusionary effect on the payment and e-money market. This exclusionary effect prohibited the payment and e-money players to enter the market and run their commercial activities.

Upon our application to the Turkish Competition Authority, for the first time in the EMEA region, a competition authority rendered a decision regarding the FinTech industry. The Bank’s exemption was nulled and certain revision on the relicensing agreements and collaborations became mandatory.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

Since the year we were founded, we grew sustainably by proceeding a certain level every year. In the COVID-19 pandemic period which caused a recession, SRP-Legal managed to sustain its existing situation without downsizing and continued its activities.

SRP-Legal aims the unique client experience by working closely with clients, providing them up-to-date strategic advisory services with a sophisticated and versatile approach.

It is the diversity of knowledge and experience of SRP-Legal, and ability to act responsively and promptly that leads us to provide client satisfaction.

The life is changing and converting. Clients are forced to use technology to distinguish their business from others, to create a difference, and to secure the future of humanity. SRP-Legal aims to accord with the digital transformation that will work for the benefit of people by respecting their values under its motto “Regulating Future”.