ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law

ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law is an eminent, independent Turkish law firm based in Istanbul. The firm was founded in 2005.

ELIG Gürkaynak is committed to providing its clients with high-quality legal services. We combine a solid knowledge of Turkish law with a business-minded approach to develop legal solutions that meet the ever-changing needs of our clients in their international and domestic operations.

Our legal team consists of 90 lawyers. We take pride in being able to assist our clients in all fields of law. Our areas of expertise particularly include competition law, corporate law, M&A, contracts law, white collar irregularities and compliance, data protection and cybersecurity law, litigation and dispute resolution, Internet law, technology, media and telecommunications law, intellectual property law, administrative law, real estate law, anti-dumping law, pharma and healthcare regulatory, employment law, and banking and finance law.

As an independent Turkish law firm, ELIG Gürkaynak collaborates with many international law firms on various projects.

Our competition law and regulatory department is led by our founding partner, Mr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, and consists of two partners, five counsel and 40 associates.

In addition to unparalleled experience in merger control issues, ELIG Gürkaynak has vast experience in defending companies before the Turkish Competition Board in all phases of antitrust investigations, abuse of dominant position cases, leniency handlings, and before courts on issues of private enforcement of competition law, along with appeals of the administrative decisions of the Turkish Competition Authority.

Our clients are national and multinational corporations, conglomerates, business associations, financial institutions, partnerships and individuals who are leaders in their market sectors and ELIG Gürkaynak has extensive experience and knowledge of the business implications and legal complexities this brings. The aim of our firm is to deliver pragmatic commercial advice to minimize clients’ exposure to competition law risks.

In addition to our strong Turkish competition law practice, our international experience provides us with a high capability in multinational competition law issues. We have particular experience in the European Union competition law regime.

We have extensive experience before the Turkish Competition Authority, and an excellent track record in achieving successful outcomes for our clients. We have an in-depth knowledge of representing defendants and complainants in complex antitrust investigations concerning all forms of abuse of dominant position allegations and restrictive horizontal and/or vertical arrangements. These include price-fixing, retail price maintenance, refusal to supply, territorial restrictions and concerted practice allegations.

ELIG Gürkaynak assisted clients with high profile investigations which resulted in landmark decisions during the past year. One of these cases involved Google, which ELIG Gürkaynak represented through the compliance process of the Turkish Competition Board’s high-profile Shopping decision. The Turkish Competition Board decided that the violation found in the Board’s Shopping decision has ceased.

In terms of merger control filings, the competition law and antitrust team assisted Peugeot SA in the merger control proceedings in Turkey for the transaction concerning the combination of two global automotive companies, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Peugeot S.A. Peugeot S.A. merged with and into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. Then Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Peugeot S.A. formed Stellantis N.V. The transaction was notified to the Turkish Competition Authority on February 21, 2020. The Turkish Competition Board cleared the decision with conditions on December 30, 2020.

In addition to significant antitrust litigation expertise, ELIG also has considerable expertise in administrative law, and is well equipped to represent clients before the High State Court, both on the merits of a case and for injunctive relief. The firm also advises clients on a day-to-day basis in a wide range of business transactions that almost always contain antitrust law issues, including distributorship, licensing, franchising and toll manufacturing issues.

For further information, please visit

www.elig.com or contact our Founding Partner,

Gönenç Gürkaynak, by email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com