Esentepe Mah. Harman Sok. No. 5, Harmancı Giz Plaza Kat 16, Şişli, İstanbul, Turkey 34394
T: +90 212 284 98 82 | E: info@aschukuk.com | www.aschukuk.com
Practice areas: arbitration, banking and finance, capital markets, commercial (including project development and finance), corporate, debt restructuring, labour/employment, litigation, M&A, probate, real estate
AKSU ÇALIŞKAN BEYGO ATTORNEY PARTNERSHIP (ASC Law) is a leading full-service Turkish law firm uniquely organised into consultancy, litigation and debt collection and enforcement departments. Bringing together approximately 70 highly-qualified lawyers, with 170 employees in total, ASC Law has been serving domestic and international clients since its founding in 2001.
ASC has extensive experience in the structuring of complex, high-value transactions, as well as handling some of Turkey’s most highly-contested disputes. As such, ASC represents a variety of major corporations, banks and financial institutions, located in Turkey and abroad, and from such diverse sectors as banking, construction, energy (including renewables such as hydro, wind, biomass and solar), retail, telecommunications and transportation.
Many of the matters ASC Law handles, whether transactional or litigation, involve cross-practice efforts – eg, where lawyers from the firm’s three departments work together, so as to take full advantage of the firm’s deeply-experienced, multi-disciplinary, professionals.
ASC Law is particularly proud of its involvement in the Turkcell Shareholder Restructuring, which was recognised, and rightfully so, by CEE Legal Matters as Turkey’s 2020 ‘Deal of the Year’. In an engagement which brought together in a single transaction several of ASC Law’s core banking and finance expertises, ASC Law took the lead role as both: (i) counsel for Ziraat Bank, the ‘Lead Arranger’, which involved more than US$2bn in restructured and original financing; and (ii) counsel for the most important party to the restructuring itself, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Turkey.
At a glance: ASC Law
Headcount: 70 lawyers; 10 partners, 1 of counsel, 9 senior associates, 30 associates, 20 apprentices
Number of offices: Istanbul, Turkey
Key clients: Ziraat Bank, Osmanlı Investments, Banking Association of Turkey, Sovereign Wealth Fund of Turkey, Anadolu Holding, Istanbul International Airport, Atalian Global Services, Akenerji Electricity Generation, beIN Media Group (aka Digitürk), Turcas Petrol
The team
No Turkish law firm’s upper management has the breath, depth or effectiveness of ASC Law’s. Our three founding partners, Murat Aksu, Zeki Calışkan and Okan Beygo, and managing partner, Doğan Coşgun, have practised law for a total of well in excess of 100 years. The other ASC Law Partners they work with bring experience and expertise similar, in many cases, to those managing other Turkish firms. All of our partners have developed deep specialised knowledge in their particular practice area, something not often found locally, where specialisation lags behind other countries which, like Turkey, are actively involved in cross-border transactions and disputes.
(Pictured L-R from the top) Mr. Murat Aksu (founding partner, all departments), Mr. Zeki Calışkan (founding partner, all departments, with focus on the debt collection and enforcement department), Mr. Okan Beygo (founding partner, consulting department), Mr. Doğan Coşgun (managing partner, litigation and debt collection and enforcement departments), Mr. Levent Yetkil (partner, consulting department – banking, finance, debt restructuring, projects), Ms. Ela Sarı (partner, consulting department – capital markets, corporate, M&A), Mr. F. Cem Keser (partner, litigation department), Mr. Kemal Tağa (partner, litigation department), Ms. Çağlar Köktürk Akoymak (partner, debt collection and enforcement department), Mr. Ayhan Kılınç (chief executive), Mr. Mark D. Skilling (of counsel, litigation department – international arbitration)