Everyone in the new firm of Guleryuz & Partners is under 40 years old, from the newest intern to founding partners Tarık Güleryüz and Dr. Zahide Altunbaş Sancak. But behind the youthful faces, is a practice of highly experienced international practitioners and academics.
“This is a great example of a modern, dynamic law firm, and the sort of member we are keen to attract. Their lawyers have considerable expertise in cross-border work and in looking for significant international growth have identified our network and member base as the best way to facilitate that,” explained Eurojuris president Olivier Vibert.
Guleryuz & Partners is based in Istanbul, with an associated office in Ankara, and further strengthens the network’s presence in the country. The firm provides corporate solutions for clients, specialising in mergers & acquisitions and commercial litigation, working across many sectors - including energy, infrastructure, and IT.
Partner Dr. Zahide Altunbaş Sancak described the impetus for setting up the firm: “Having each worked for big law firms for over a decade, we felt we could do something different and more client-focused. This led us to establish our new practice, bringing in other experienced and like-minded lawyers, like our senior associate Barış Ülker.”
“The pandemic was a difficult time, but already we have 12 associates and business is thriving. Our immediate ambition is to grow to 30 lawyers, building connections with international colleagues to advise their clients on Turkish law, and assisting more clients with their European interests.”
According to Zahide, as the pandemic made it difficult to meet new clients, the firm turned this to their advantage by focusing on other ways to reach out. “We published lots of articles, held webinars and made sure that every day we were looking at what was new in the law, and finding ways to show our expertise, including seeking out opportunities to participate in events with partners such as Harvard Business Review,” she explained. “As well as reaching potential clients, having strong online marketing helped show our vision to potential staff, and we have taken on four interns as a result.”
Zahide specialises in mergers and acquisitions, is a member of both Istanbul and New York bar associations and completed her Masters of Laws at Harvard Law School. She holds a PhD in mergers & acquisitions and lectures on the subject at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.
Fellow partner Tarık Güleryüz leads the firm’s dispute and litigation activities. He completed his Masters of Law at Queen Mary’s in London, is currently pursuing an MBA and a PhD and is a visiting Lecturer at Bahcesehir University. A regular contributor to media channels, he represents both local and multinational clients in sectors ranging from education and finance to technology and defence.
Said Tarık: “We decided to join Eurojuris after extensive research looking at the profiles of different networks and the credentials of the members. We believed we would be a good match for Eurojuris and able to contribute at all levels as we are looking forward to broadening our network, since we believe we have a very good potential to provide added value to other member firms and vice versa.”
“While we are already involved in overseas markets, we are dedicated to future growth and our vision is to become the most prestigious firm in the country, and internationally-renowned. It’s a big ambition but we are a very dedicated young team with a shared vision, and great experience.”
Tarık added: “We want to provide an environment where every team member can flourish, both personally and in their careers, and only have identified the best candidates from the best law schools and with strong language abilities.”
All associates speak English and at least one further European language alongside their native Turkish. Alongside the two main departments covering mergers & acquisitions and corporate litigation, other expertise includes anti-corruption, corporate governance, wealth management and family businesses, capital markets & banking law matters.
Tarık, Zahide and Barış will be attending the Paris Congress to start building relationships across the network, and to take part in the practice groups covering International Litigation, ADR & Contracts, Private Wealth, and Corporate & Tax Law and Insolvency, Restructuring & Banking.
Added Zahide: “We are keen to work with international colleagues, to contribute to the network with our academic and private sector experience, and to learn from others.”
