Interview with: Yeşim Bezen, Partner

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Bezen & Partners from your competitors?

Since the establishment of Bezen & Partners, the firm’s culture has been of utmost importance to us. Our founding partners, including myself, are ex-magic circle lawyers. We started our practice in Türkiye with legal know-how and experience that we brought from London. Our firm has a special place among other law firms as it incorporates the experience of foreign-trained founding partners and local expertise.

The culture we have created is what makes Bezen & Partners distinctive, and we are committed to preserving the philosophy, traditions and character of our firm. We take pride in our approachable partners who actively participate in mentoring and guiding our associates and trainees. Our partners understand the importance of accessibility and strive to create an environment that values open communication and approachability. The open-door policy encourages a culture of learning, where trainees and associates can benefit from the vast experience and expertise of our partners, and can become guardians of the firm’s culture.

Another factor that sets Bezen & Partners apart from our competitors is our international outlook. We have a diverse team that includes lawyers from different backgrounds and experiences, and we welcome foreign lawyers to join us from time to time. We focus on diversity and inclusion during our recruitment process, placing particular importance on gender balance. It is very important for us to have people who grow up in our unique culture in order to carry our firm forward into the future.

Our culture places our clients at the centre of our practice. Our primary goal as a firm is to provide the best service to our clients and to always look after their needs. This is the first thing we teach our lawyers and trainees when we recruit them: Always put the client’s interests at the centre of your practice, assess the client’s matter as if it were your own personal matter and think of clients long-term. The client-centric approach we have created within our own firm is what makes Bezen & Partners unique; most of our clients are with us for more than a decade.

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

As a leading law firm in Türkiye, we expect several practices to grow over the next 12 months, particularly those relating to alternative financing. Given the decline in bank lending, we expect to see increased demand for legal services in crowdfunding, private equity and venture capital. Drivers of this trend include the need for alternative financing options, as well as the growing number of start-ups and small businesses in Turkey seeking investment opportunities.

We also anticipate an increased demand for legal services in the fintech industry, which is an ever-growing sector in Türkiye. Fintech startups are revolutionising the financial services industry, and we expect to see a growing number of fintech companies seeking legal advice on regulatory compliance, licensing and investment. The increasing use of digital platforms and technology to provide financial services is also driving this trend.

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

Türkiye’s economy has been struggling since before the pandemic hit the world. Many companies, including law firms, have downsized their offices and laid off staff during or following the pandemic. We, however, have followed the opposite strategy:

1. We have moved to larger premises with a view of expanding our practice groups;
2. We have completely refurbished our offices and created a lighter and more modern working environment for all our staff; and
3. We have entirely updated our IT and technology system so that we can keep pace with the technological developments and service our clients better and more efficiently.

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

Technology has enabled our firm to respond to our clients quickly and efficiently. Thanks to our integrated documentation system, we are not overwhelmed with extreme amounts of data even though we deal with a high number of clients. We are able to retrieve the relevant information swiftly and deliver the sought service. Dealing with documents is an integral part of our legal practice and technology (by enabling quick access to templates, precedents and know-how) served us quite well in this regard.

Additionally, with the rise of digital communication platforms and tools, our firm can now reach and engage with clients in ways that were not possible before. We engage with clients and even government authorities through social platforms and online meetings which saves us travel time. Further, we now have relatively easier access to new markets and can reach potential clients with ease.

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

We can give the following examples:

• Our regulatory group has played a key role in assisting a foreign client to establish a factory in an organised industrial zone in Türkiye. This required compliance with specific and unique rules and regulations that govern such zones. Negotiating the terms of the organised industrial zone agreement was particularly challenging due to cultural disparities in language and business practices (being a framework agreement, it was unheard of to request amendments thereto). Despite these challenges, our head of regulatory Aykut Bakırcı’s expertise together with his team’s negotiation skills enabled us to secure favourable outcomes for the most significant aspects of the transaction (including revisions to the framework agreement). This, in turn, added value to our client’s business.
• Our finance group was able to offer valuable guidance and support to a Turkish client throughout the negotiations of a complicated financing. The financing was at a halt, due to the banks’ request for a rather wide and stringent covenants package. The finance group’s expertise and experience helped the client to understand risks and ultimately to negotiate a more acceptable covenants package which led to the continuation of the discussions amongst the parties. As a result, this allowed the client greater financial flexibility and the ability to pursue its future business goals without undue constraints. Our team’s efforts were successful due to its constant monitoring of and involvement in similar transactions, which allowed our team to provide guidance and support to the client.
• Our customs group advised a major foreign client in the import of particular products and how the customs clearance needed to be undertaken. Our lawyers had the requisite grasp of the customs legislation and the customs processes, however, our licensed customs consultant (who is a member of the customs group; to our knowledge, we are the only law firm in our jurisdiction that has a licensed customs consultant on board) provided added value to the client by guiding the client in how to fill in the customs declarations and which codes/numbers to allocate to various products. This “hand holding” was very valuable to the client since it combined not only legal assistance but also specialised customs consultancy and clearance assistance.

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

Our culture is centred on our clients, and we are deeply committed to preserving it. Our clients choose us for this reason, as well as for the quality of our work and the experience of our team.

We believe that our expertise in handling complex transactions and disputes is a key differentiator. Our partners are highly experienced and have the specific knowledge and skills necessary to navigate these complex matters. We expect our partners to be hands-on in all services provided to clients, ensuring that issues that may arise can be easily anticipated and resolved. Their presence in every transaction guarantees that all work is heavily scrutinised, ensuring thoroughness in our delivery but also prompt attention, with quick decision-making and reaching of consensus.

However, we are not complacent and recognise the importance of passing on our knowledge and experience to the younger generation. We believe that this is critical for the protection and continuation of our firm’s culture. We expect our partners to lead by example and mentor the younger generation, so that they too can contribute to our firm’s success.

Looking ahead, we are confident that our approach and expertise will continue to differentiate us in the market. We will remain focused on delivering high-quality legal services and building strong relationships with our clients. We are committed to investing in our people and technology to ensure that we are well positioned to meet our clients’ evolving needs.