Turkey

Pelin Baysal is a founding partner of Baysal & Demir Law Firm.

She has over 18 years of experience in advising and representing companies and state-owned entities across a broad range of industries. She has extensive experience in international arbitrations and cross-border litigations, including many large scale disputes, under different applicable laws. She has acted as a legal expert on matters of Turkish law in various foreign court proceedings. She also has broad experience in the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions and arbitral awards in Turkey.

Her practice focuses on dispute resolution in construction and infrastructure, insurance and reinsurance, post M&A and banking. She has been involved in disputes concerning almost all of the largest construction projects in Turkey of the last decade. Many clients in the financial services sector have trusted her to represent their interests before arbitral tribunals and Turkish courts to collect their receivables under different contracts. She was selected as the "Best Litigation Lawyer in Turkey" by Euromoney Benchmark Litigation in 2021 and as one of the "10 Most Influential Dispute Resolution Lawyers Shaping Turkey's Law" by Business Today in 2023. Pelin was ranked as Band 3 in Arbitration and Band 4 in Litigaton by Chambers and Partners.

Her insurance and reinsurance practice is particularly distinguished. She has vast experience in handling coverage issues on almost all policy types, including construction all risk, fire all risk, third party liability, professional liability, credit insurance and bankers’ blanket bond policies. She is the only lawyer from Turkey listed in Who’s Who Legal Insurance and Reinsurance. She is noted as highly sought after by clients, who commend her ‘sharp and comprehensive analysis’ as well as ‘the clarity of her advice’ when it comes to insurance disputes.

Pelin has been repeatedly praised in all leading professional directories and is described as ‘highly motivated and hard-working to best represent the client’s interests’. She is considered ‘a very strong analytical lawyer’ and has earned praise for her ‘highly pragmatic and solution-oriented support coupled with precise knowledge and understanding of the case’. Clients applaud her ‘very close relationship with the companies [for which] she provides service’, and she ‘goes the extra mile to be successful for her clients’.

Dr Koray Demir is a founding partner of Baysal & Demir Law Firm.

He has advised local and foreign enterprises in every aspect of commercial law, company law, competition law and intellectual property law for more than 15 years. Supported by his academic background, he has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating complex contracts, i.e.  distribution agreements, agency agreements, franchise agreements, and leasing and factoring agreements. He also helps clients to manage their relationships with their suppliers and manufacturers. Koray is a well-known expert in warranties of title and quality cases and cases of unfair competition, as well as agents’ and sole distributors’ indemnity payments. He is also one of the leading academics in so-called group law (Konzernrecht).

Koray advises board members in strategic executive decisions and helps clients to hold their general meetings. He also drafts charters for family-owned businesses and regulations for executive organs of stock companies. His strong academic background in so-called balance-based transactions and his understanding of the basic principles of bookkeeping allow him to evaluate and create solutions in technical bankruptcy situations, manage ordinary, conditional and/or authorised capital increases or decreases, and help clients in the formation of joint ventures, mergers, asset and share purchases, spin-offs, the separation of a division, changes of legal form, and liquidation. In the last 15 years he has been involved in various large-scale local and cross-border M&A transactions.

Koray provides services for merger control and exemption filings. He provides legal opinions in cartel investigations and advice on general competition compliance matters in the sense of efficient monitoring and evaluation. Based on his academic background and practical experience as official appraiser for the intellectual property courts, he can also handle complex issues arising out of the law on trademarks, copyrights and patents.

Dr. Ulaş Baysal is one of the partners at Baysal & Demir Law Firm. He is responsible for the employment and compliance practice of the firm.

Ulaş advises companies on all aspects of individual and collective employment law as well as occupational health and safety (OHS) regulations. He regularly acts as an official mediator in negotiations between trade unions and employers/employers’ associations. He is a well-known expert on collective bargaining disputes and he is called on for his expertise not only by the courts but also by the parties to the dispute.

On the individual employment law side, he particularly focuses on disputes arising from c-level employment relationships. He assists clients in collective dismissal, restructurings and outsourcing transactions. Recently he has concentrated on mobility, remote work, the gig economy and employment relations.

Ulaş lectures on employment law, OHS law, trade unions and collective bargaining agreement law at Istanbul Technical University.

He is the author of various well-regarded publications and has been a speaker or panellist for various organisations. The Turkish Court of Cassation has made reference to his books and articles in recent court of appeal precedents.

Ural, with his over 20 years of experience, has acted as lead and co-counsel in numerous complex local and international dispute resolution cases. He frequently acts in cases with cross border elements involving M&A, shareholders, joint venture disputes, compensation cases, directors’ and officers’ liability disputes, and white-collar and corporate crime. He also has extensive experience in the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions and arbitral awards in Turkey.

Ural, who as a graduate of the German School Istanbul (Deutsche Schule Istanbul) is a member of Baysal & Demir’s German Desk, has been involved in various M&A transactions and has assisted foreign and local companies in establishing joint ventures. He has drafted and negotiated share purchases, joint ventures, share pledges and voting agreements, and has conducted due diligence processes. He has also prepared and re-structured numerous different commercial agreements covering distribution, purchase, retail, services, consulting and financing agreements.

With the combination of Ural’s dispute resolution and advisory expertise and in-depth knowledge, he is noted as “highly skilled and efficient lawyer.