Türkiye

Meet the Co-Chairs

Faruk Aktay, Managing Partner, Aktay Law Firm (Istanbul)

Faruk Aktay is a full-service cross-border transactions attorney qualified to practice in Istanbul, New York and England. He is a stellar Turkish lawyer with an unparalleled background in law and economics. During his career, he has involved in domestic and cross-border merger and acquisitions, project finance and capital markets transactions and developed special expertise in the international trade, antitrust and market regulation. In 2015 he also worked as the interim country counsel of Hewlett Packard Turkey and orchestrated its separation process. In his own firm, he acted as legal advisor for several technology companies.

Faruk Aktay is an active member of Cross-Border Transactions Committees of International Bar Association, Antitrust Section of American Bar Association and Monopolization and Big Tech Commitee of New York Bar Association. In Türkiye, he is a member of among others British, German, French and Italian Chambers of Commerce. He also acted as the President of Fulbright Alumni Association in Turkiye until 2023.

Ferve Khan, Counsel at BakerHostetler LLP (New York)

Ferve Khan is a full-service bankruptcy and restructuring attorney with a practice spanning plaintiff and defense-side litigation and transactional work. She has particular experience in the financial services, energy and healthcare industries and has also represented creditors, committees and fiduciaries in cases of mass torts, the recovery of the proceeds of fraud and Chapter 11.

Ferve has been recognized as a “40 Under 40” insolvency professional by the American Bankruptcy Institute. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Chapter Steering Committee

Ferhat Pekin

Ferhat Pekin is a corporate attorney with 18+ years of cross-border M&A and transactional experience. He has closed a significant number of deals in the EMEA region. Ferhat has guided operating companies and investors through over sixty major international acquisitions, corporate transactions and cross-border projects. He has also handled international arbitration and data privacy issues. Ferhat’s clients include a mix of international funds, private equity firms and multinational conglomerates. Ferhat is the country editor for Foreign Legal Guide (FLG), Turkey, France and Belgium chapters, on the Brill Platform (Brill & The Hague Academy of International Law) (2022 – 2023).

Mehmet Kömürcü, Ph.D.

Mehmet Kömürcü is a partner in Dentons’ Toronto office and a member of the Firm’s Corporate group. Mehmet advises Canadian and international clients on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and reorganizations, business immigration, and general corporate and commercial issues.

Mehmet has assisted clients in a wide variety of industry sectors with a particular focus on technology (including startups), energy, education, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and hospitality. Having spent the last decade in Istanbul, Mehmet provided counsel and direction to a range of corporate clients there. Mehmet has worked extensively with multinational companies looking to expand into Turkey. He has delivered strategic advice in various areas, including M&A, investment management, IP matters, litigation, dispute resolution, privatization and IPOs.

In a previous role, he was general counsel to Turk Telekom during its privatization, international expansion and subsequent IPO, which was the largest in Turkey’s history at that time. As a result, Mehmet has worked in the foreign investment environment across Turkey, Europe, and the Middle East and possesses strong relationships with lawyers and government leaders throughout the region.

Mehmet is licensed to practise law in Ontario, Istanbul and New York and holds a doctorate in public international law from the University of Wisconsin – Madison Law School.

Utku Coşar

Utku Coşar is an independent arbitrator and a member of Arbitration Chambers based in New York, London and Istanbul. She specialises in commercial and investment arbitration and has extensive experience in energy, finance, shareholders’ and post-M&A/joint venture-related disputes, and investment arbitrations.

Utku is a member of the LCIA Court, the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre and the Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre Court of Arbitration; Vice Chair of the IBA’s Arbitration Committee; and a fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). She serves on the editorial boards of Arbitration International (the official journal of the LCIA) and Dispute Resolution International, the journal of the dispute resolution section of the IBA. She is registered on the panels of various arbitral institutions, including the ICDR and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

Ayse Yazici Adanir

Ayse Yazici Adanir is a corporate lawyer advising clients in M&A transactions, infrastructure and energy projects, corporate governance and project finance. She also represents clients in international arbitrations, mostly in construction and M&A disputes. As a partner at YAZICI Attorney Partnership’s Istanbul office, she has led the legal aspects of various foreign investments into Turkey and assisted Turkish investors in their projects elsewhere. She holds a JD from Cardozo Law School and is dual-qualified in New York and in Turkey. She is a member of AIEN.