Practice Areas
Combining academic expertise in private international law with practical experience across a broad range of civil, commercial and international legal matters.
Individual Services
Private International Law
Advice and representation in all legal relationships with a foreign element. Comprehensive services for Turkish citizens living abroad, foreigners in Turkey, and cross-border disputes.
- Recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments
- Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards
- Recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey
- International child custody and abduction cases (Hague Convention)
- Inheritance matters involving foreign nationals
- Dual citizenship and status issues
- Acquisition of real estate in Turkey by foreign nationals
- Determination of applicable law in international contracts
- Cross-border debt collection and enforcement
- Legal representation of foreign companies in Turkey
- Mediation in international commercial disputes
- Apostille and document legalisation
Real Estate & Construction Law
Legal advice and litigation across all areas of real estate law — from property acquisition to construction projects, title disputes to urban transformation. Extensive experience in Urla, İzmir and Istanbul.
- Title cancellation and registration actions
- Drafting real estate sale and purchase agreements
- Pre-emption (right of first refusal) actions
- Partition of co-ownership (izale-i şuyu)
- Trespass and prevention of interference actions
- Easements, usufruct and right of habitation
- Condominium and floor-easement disputes
- Land-share construction contracts
- Construction and architecture contracts
- Contractor liability and defective construction claims
- Incomplete works and delay compensation
- Progress payment disputes
- Urban transformation and risky building assessments
- Zoning plan cancellation actions
- Expropriation and unlawful expropriation claims
- Acquisition of real estate by foreign nationals
Tenancy Law
Protection of landlord and tenant rights at every stage of residential and commercial lease relationships — from drafting contracts to eviction, rent adjustment to debt recovery.
- Drafting residential and commercial lease agreements
- Rent determination proceedings
- Rent adaptation proceedings (Turkish Code of Obligations Art. 138)
- Eviction actions (need, reconstruction, eviction undertaking)
- Eviction for rent arrears and default
- Early termination by tenant and compensation
- Security deposit refund disputes
- Assignment of lease and subletting
- Extension and renewal of commercial leases
- Rent increase rate disputes
- Defective handover and repair obligations
- Objections to tenant's use of the property
Inheritance & Succession
Advice and litigation across all areas of succession law — from opening of an estate to distribution, will drafting to contestation. Special expertise in cross-border and multi-country succession matters.
- Drafting wills and official testaments
- Will contestation proceedings
- Drafting inheritance agreements
- Estate distribution (partition) proceedings
- Forced heirship and reduction (tenkis) actions
- Fraudulent conveyance by deceased (muris muvazaası)
- Renunciation of inheritance and revocation of renunciation
- Administration of the estate community
- Liability for debts of the deceased
- Revocation of testamentary dispositions
- Inheritance rights of foreign heirs in Turkey
- Multi-country succession matters
- Estate company and estate management
- Equalisation and restitution obligations
Family Law
Advice and representation across all areas of family law — from divorce to custody arrangements, maintenance to matrimonial property settlement. Special expertise in international family disputes.
- Drafting uncontested divorce protocols
- Contested divorce proceedings
- Custody and contact order proceedings
- Variation of custody orders
- International child abduction and return proceedings
- Interim, poverty and child maintenance
- Maintenance increase and reduction proceedings
- Matrimonial property settlement (participation in acquired property)
- Participation receivable and value increase share claims
- Family home annotation and protective measures
- Establishment and denial of parentage
- Adoption proceedings
- Divorce proceedings involving foreign spouses
- Recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey
- Domestic violence and protection orders
Compensation, Insurance & Consumer Law
Comprehensive legal support from tort compensation claims to insurance disputes, consumer rights to defective product litigation.
- Road traffic accident material and moral damages
- Vehicle diminution in value claims
- Loss of dependency compensation
- Personal injury and disability compensation
- Compensation claims against insurance companies
- Comprehensive and third-party insurance disputes
- Home insurance disputes
- Health insurance appeals
- Defective housing claims
- Defective vehicle and new car return actions
- Consumer arbitration committee applications
- Subscription and distance sales contract disputes
- Withdrawal rights and return claims
- Unfair commercial practice complaints
- Timeshare and holiday contract disputes
Turkish Citizenship by Investment
Legal assistance for foreign investors seeking Turkish citizenship through qualifying investments — real estate, bank deposits, government debt instruments and investment funds.
- Investment route selection and eligibility assessment
- Legal due diligence for citizenship-purpose property purchases
- Registration of conformity undertakings in the land registry
- Certificate of conformity procedures
- Short-term residence permit applications
- Citizenship application and document preparation
- Inclusion of spouse and dependent children
- Remote representation through power of attorney
- Legal due diligence on investment risks
Corporate Services
Companies & Commercial Law
Corporate advisory and representation across all areas of commercial law — from company formation and governance to partnership disputes, mergers and acquisitions.
- Formation of joint-stock and limited liability companies
- Drafting articles of association and internal regulations
- Share transfer agreements and share sale and purchase
- Shareholders' agreements
- Actions to annul general assembly resolutions
- Challenges to board of directors resolutions
- Director and shareholder liability proceedings
- Company mergers, demergers and transfers
- Company liquidation and dissolution
- Commercial books disputes
- Trade name and trademark disputes
- Unfair competition proceedings
- Commercial representative and agency agreements
- Distribution and dealership agreements
- Legal support for companies engaged in international trade
Real Estate & Construction Law (Corporate)
Comprehensive corporate real estate advice — from commercial property transactions to large-scale construction projects, urban transformation to zoning disputes.
- Commercial real estate sale and purchase agreements
- Land-share construction contracts
- Construction, architecture and engineering contracts
- Subcontractor agreements
- Progress payment arrangements and disputes
- Delay penalties and compensation claims
- Defective and incomplete works proceedings
- Project suspension and termination
- Urban transformation project advisory
- Challenges to risky building assessments
- Zoning plan amendment and cancellation proceedings
- Expropriation compensation increase actions
- Unlawful expropriation compensation
- Building permit and occupancy permit disputes
- Contractor liability in land-share construction projects
Contracts & Obligations
Advisory and representation across all areas of the law of obligations — from drafting, negotiating and revising all types of commercial contracts to breach of contract proceedings.
- Sale and supply agreements
- Service and consultancy agreements
- Works contracts
- Franchise agreements
- Licence and technology transfer agreements
- Non-disclosure agreements (NDA)
- Breach of contract and default proceedings
- Termination of contract and challenges to termination
- Penalty clause and compensation claims
- Contract adaptation (hardship)
- Unjust enrichment proceedings
- Agency and representation agreements
- Guarantee agreements and guarantor liability
- Bank letters of guarantee and disputes
- CISG application in international contracts
Employment & Social Security Law
Advisory and representation at every stage of the employment relationship — from employment contracts to collective labour law, workplace accidents to social security disputes.
- Drafting and revising employment contracts
- Reinstatement proceedings
- Severance and notice pay claims
- Wage, overtime and annual leave receivables
- Workplace harassment and bad faith compensation
- Workplace accident compensation proceedings
- Occupational disease proceedings
- Social security premium disputes
- Occupational health and safety obligations
- Collective bargaining agreement advisory
- Strike and lockout proceedings
- Work permit processes for foreign employees
- Business transfer and employee rights
- Non-compete agreements
- Senior executive and employer representative contracts
Enforcement, Insolvency & Debt Recovery
Effective legal representation across all areas of enforcement and insolvency law — from individual and commercial debt recovery to bankruptcy proceedings.
- Initiating non-judicial enforcement proceedings
- Judicial enforcement proceedings
- Proceedings based on negotiable instruments (cheque, promissory note, bill of exchange)
- Actions to invalidate objections
- Applications to lift objections
- Negative declaratory actions
- Recovery actions
- Attachment proceedings and challenges to attachment
- Real estate and vehicle sale processes
- Filing for bankruptcy and suspension of bankruptcy
- Concordat proceedings
- Creditors' meeting and order of priority challenges
- Revocation actions (actio pauliana)
- Enforcement of foreign judgments
- International debt recovery
Intellectual Property & Technology
Advisory and representation across all areas of intellectual property and technology law — from trademarks, copyright, patents and designs to digital content, software contracts and internet law.
- Trademark registration applications and opposition proceedings
- Trademark infringement and passing-off actions
- Trademark invalidation proceedings
- Copyright infringement proceedings
- Rights in architectural works
- Design registration and infringement proceedings
- Patent application advisory
- Utility model disputes
- Unfair competition proceedings
- Licence and assignment agreements
- Software development and SaaS agreements
- Data protection and KVKK compliance advisory
- Personal data breach proceedings
- Online content removal and access blocking
- Social media and e-commerce law
Mediation
As a registered mediator with the Turkish Ministry of Justice, Dr. Özkan offers mediation as a faster, more confidential and cost-effective alternative to litigation for commercial, labour, family and international disputes.
Discuss Your Legal Matter
We offer a confidential initial consultation to assess your situation and outline the available legal options.