Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance sets up office in Istanbul

Clifford Chance has today announced the formal opening of its new office in Istanbul, supporting clients in Turkey and across South East Europe.

Clifford Chance partner, Simon Williams, will head the office, working closely with Mete Yegin who will provide Turkish legal advice to clients through affiliated firm, Yegin Legal Consultancy (YLC).  Together, the operation numbers 12 lawyers. Recent hires include senior lawyers Erkan Ayaz, Mufit Arapoglu, Ali Can Kolay, Gozde Cankaya and Zeynep Betil.

"The office will focus on a range of infrastructure, energy, finance, M&A and capital markets work - fields where Clifford Chance already enjoys a market-leading reputation", Williams explains. "With more than 30 years' experience in Turkey, we are well placed to provide clients with an in-depth understanding of the local market, as well as access to our widely respected cross-border transactional expertise.  Now we have a permanent presence on the ground, we have an even stronger platform to service clients investing in the region.  As the Turkish economy continues to experience strong growth, we anticipate opportunities to develop our own offering in the coming years".

David Childs, Clifford Chance managing partner, stated that, "Many of our clients are increasing their focus on growth markets and, as a result, the response to our plans for Istanbul has been very positive.  This is one of a series of investments that the firm has announced in the past few months, including a new office in Qatar, our Australian mergers and ambitious growth plans for Asia, which demonstrate our intention to establish the right geographical profile to meet clients' evolving needs."

Clifford Chance has a strong track record in advising domestic and international clients on Turkish-related matters.  The firm has a market-leading Energy and Infrastructure practice, advising on major transactions such as the EnerjiSA portfolio financing, the Gebze-Orhangazi-Izmir Motorway, the Istanbul Strait Road Tunnel Crossing, the Mersin and Bandirma ports and the Boyabat dam and hydro power project.

Clifford Chance continues to advise on Republic of Turkey Debt issuances, as well  as advising local and international banks in connection with the financing of potential acquisitions and local corporates in connection with proposed IPOs.