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 partner, Mr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, along with four partners, two counsel and 40 associates. In addition to our 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 the 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 minimise 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.

During the past year, ELIG Gürkaynak has been involved in over 85 merger clearances by the Turkish Competition Authority, more than 35 defence project investigations, and over 15 antitrust appeals before the administrative courts. ELIG Gürkaynak also provided more than 75 antitrust education seminars to employees of its clients.

One of these cases involved a lengthy investigation against 13 banks operating in Turkey. In 2016 the Turkish Competition Authority initiated an investigation into allegations that these banks exchanged competition-sensitive information and established a cartel in the Turkish market for corporate loans.

The investigation aimed at determining whether the banks violated Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on Protection of Competition through information exchange on corporate loan terms, sharing competition- sensitive information regarding other financial transactions and signalling future competitive behaviour.

After a lengthy investigation, and as a result of our successful defence, the Competition Board cleared our clients from these allegations with no administrative monetary fines imposed.

The decision sets a landmark precedent in terms of (i) information exchanges about various types of financial transactions between international financial institutions and (ii) corporate and commercial lending market in Turkey, as it grasps the actual legal and economic context of the market and properly applies it to each and every one of the communications laid down. The decision also rightfully establishes an important precedent that leniency applications may also provide immunity from a fine for cases not regarded as a cartel.

In addition to the above, ELIG Gürkaynak successfully represented Rolls-Royce in a transaction garnering significant media attention during the past two years, which we handled the Turkish merger control filing relating to the establishment of a full-function joint venture, TAEC Uçak Motor Sanayi A.S. ("TAEC"), between Kale Holding A.S. ("Kale") and Rolls-Royce Overseas Holdings Limited ("Rolls-Royce"). ELIG Gürkaynak successfully secured swift approval from the Turkish Competition Board.

The aim of the joint venture is to bring together the complementary strengths of Kale and Rolls-Royce in the aero engine segment, particularly regarding design, development, production and servicing of the TF-X Engine.

The TF-X programme is part of Turkey's plan to develop its defence industry and this will be Turkey's first domestically designed and produced fighter jet. Through the execution of the TF-X engine programme, and with the support of Rolls-Royce and Kale's expertise, TAEC will develop the engineering and supply chain capabilities needed to be competitive in the gas-turbine industry.

In addition to significant antitrust litigation expertise, ELIG Gürkaynak 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