Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Integrated management of mediation, litigation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings in commercial disputes.
Disputes may arise at any stage of a commercial relationship; the critical issue is how the dispute is managed. In Turkey, particularly in recent years, the mandatory mediation framework has expanded; commercial disputes (Turkish Commercial Code Art. 5/A), employment disputes, and certain consumer disputes are now subject to mediation before litigation. Our office collaborates with clients from the moment a dispute risk emerges through to the liquidation or enforcement phase, jointly planning and executing the entire process.
Our service scope encompasses the management of negotiations and settlement discussions, preparation of mediation files and conduct of mediation sessions, litigation and judicial proceedings in commercial and consumer disputes, Consumer Arbitration Board and Consumer Court proceedings, administrative litigation including actions for annulment and full jurisdiction claims, and domestic and international arbitration proceedings. Disputes arising particularly in the technology, marketplace, fintech, and data protection sectors—such as actions for annulment against Turkish Data Protection Authority decisions, judicial review of Advertising Board decisions, claims for payment and damages arising from platform intermediation agreements, and liability issues in influencer collaborations involving the brand-agency-influencer triad—are areas in which we regularly practice.
Strategy considers not only the legal strength of the case but also its commercial cost, duration, and reputational dimension. Our office evaluates with clients the true cost of the dispute, possible resolution methods, and outcome probabilities before deciding to initiate litigation. We make deliberate choices among early negotiation, timely settlement offers, positions protected by precautionary measures or preliminary attachment where appropriate, and—where necessary—prolonged litigation. The opponent's defensive position, distribution of evidence, and timing are the primary factors determining this choice.
In arbitration matters, we provide support in pre-contractual arbitration clause design, selection between institutional arbitration centers (Istanbul Arbitration Center, ICC, LCIA) and UNCITRAL ad hoc structures, arbitrator appointment, evidence management, and enforcement of final awards. Our deliverables include early-stage risk assessment memoranda, settlement strategy documents, evidence management guides, litigation or arbitration petitions, and lessons-learned files upon conclusion of proceedings.