Legal Services for Companies in Turkey

This page is for companies registered in Türkiye and the people who own and run them, from a two-partner limited company to a joint-stock company with a foreign parent. Karanfiloglu Law Firm, the office of Av. Kaan Karanfiloğlu in Şişli, Istanbul, advises companies and represents them before courts, enforcement offices and authorities across Türkiye, and works remotely by power of attorney where the procedure allows.

Most of the work is preventive: reading a document before it is signed costs far less than defending it later. The rest is disputes, and below you can see both.

Common situations

• Shareholders and company decisions: a share transfer, a capital increase, a change of directors, a general assembly that needs proper minutes, or partners who no longer agree (commercial law).
• Contracts: supply, distribution, lease, service and confidentiality agreements that arrive every week and are signed on the other side's template. See contracts and obligations.
• Employees: employment contracts, written warnings, terminations and the mediation meetings that, as a rule, come before any employee lawsuit (employment law).
• Unpaid receivables: a customer stops paying, objects to an enforcement proceeding or applies for concordat, and the company needs to secure what it is owed (debt collection).
• Brands: the company name or logo is not yet registered as a trademark, or a competitor has filed a confusingly similar application (trademark registration and disputes).
• Personal data: customer and employee data are collected without proper notices, consents or retention rules, or a data breach has occurred (KVKK compliance).
• Disputes in court: a commercial claim, an appeal against a judgment, or a claim the company must defend. Commercial money claims usually go to mediation first (litigation and appeals).

How we work with companies

The first meeting takes place at the office in Şişli, at your premises or by video call. We read the articles of association, the trade registry records, the key contracts and, in a dispute, the correspondence and invoices. You can arrange it through the contact page.

You then receive a written note setting out the options, the steps, a realistic timeline and the costs, such as court fees, notary costs and registry fees. Our fee is agreed in writing before any work starts.

A company is represented through a power of attorney signed by its authorised signatories, as shown in the signature circular. Most filings go through the national judiciary network (UYAP), and official notices arrive by electronic notification, so a great deal can be done without anyone travelling. Hearings outside Istanbul are attended in person or, where the court allows, by video link.

Av. Kaan Karanfiloğlu works in Turkish, English and French, which helps with foreign shareholders, bilingual contracts and reporting to a parent company. Russian- and Chinese-speaking clients are served through native-speaking advisors at the office.

You receive a written update after each hearing, filing or decision. Under a retainer, you also receive a periodic summary of every open file, so management sees the whole picture in one place.

Retainer or one-off engagement?

A company can work with us in two ways. A one-off engagement covers a single matter, such as a share transfer, one contract, one lawsuit or a trademark filing; it has a defined scope and ends with the matter.

A retainer covers recurring work under a written agreement, usually month by month: contract reviews, employment files, general assembly paperwork and follow-up of receivables. The choice depends on how often legal questions come up, not on the size of the company. Some companies start with one matter and move to a retainer later. Court cases are normally agreed separately, even under a retainer. Certain joint-stock companies and larger building cooperatives are also required by the Attorneys' Act to retain a contracted lawyer; this is explained on our legal counsel for companies page.

Frequently asked questions

Does my company need a lawyer on retainer?

Not always. If legal questions come up only a few times a year, one-off engagements are usually enough. A retainer makes sense once contracts, employment files and receivables create a steady monthly workload, or when the law requires a contracted lawyer.

Can you review contracts written in English?

Yes. Contracts in English or French are reviewed directly, without a translation step. In a bilingual contract, check which language prevails if the two versions differ, because a Turkish court will look for that clause.

What should we do when an employee applies for mediation?

Attend the mediation meeting and prepare the personnel file before it. As a rule, a party that misses the first meeting without a valid excuse bears the costs of a later lawsuit even if it wins, so ignoring the invitation is a costly mistake.

How do we collect an unpaid invoice in Türkiye?

Usually by starting an enforcement proceeding at the enforcement office, which does not require a prior judgment. If the debtor objects within the statutory seven-day period, the proceeding stops, and the company has to ask the court to set the objection aside, which needs certain documents, or file a lawsuit to cancel it, usually after mediation.

Do we have to register with VERBİS?

It depends on the exemption criteria set by the Personal Data Protection Board, which look at matters such as the number of employees, the annual balance sheet total and whether the main activity involves sensitive personal data. The thresholds are revised from time to time, so check the current Board decision before concluding that you are exempt.