28
Thu, Mar
51 New Articles

The Buzz in Turkey: Interview with Eren Kursun of Esin Attorney Partnership

The Buzz
Tools
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Although Eren Kursun, Partner and head of M&A and PE practices at Esin Attorney Partnership, the Turkish member firm of Baker & McKenzie International, concedes that the second half of 2015 and 2016 has been a slower for many law firms in Turkey, primarily because of the political environment, he also emphasizes that the year has been “so far so good for us.”

When asked about the effect on business of the failed July 15 coup d’etat in Turkey, Kursun says: “It's complicated." He describes the event as "like a nightmare” and says “during the first few days, to be honest, nobody - including myself - was thinking much about business. We cared first about more fundamental issues.” Still, he emphasizes that business is not suffering as much as the market was expecting. Only one of Esin's M&A deals was put on hold — and that was at a very early stage to begin with — and he reports that the firm continues to work on IPOs and many other projects. He does not expect to see any real exodus of investors as a result. “Turkey remains open for business and an attractive market for both financial and strategic investors.”

Indeed, Kursun reports, the removal of those in positions of authority associated with Fethullah Gulen, the exiled Turkish cleric believed by the Turkish government to have masterminded the coup attempt, “is quickly moving past any sense of crisis.” He continued: “There is of course some political uncertainty, like in many countries, but it’s nothing like as bad as has been reported internationally.” In fact, he says, "many people are seeing the government's actions as necessary to safeguard the country’s long term future and prosperity.”

Kursun says the coup attempt has in many respects brought the Turkish people together, as he claims that "almost everyone was against the attempt to remove a democratically elected government by force, regardless of individual political views." The fact that even many Turkish people who do not necessarily support the AKP did not view the attempted coup as an opportunity to get rid of the government played a uniting role for the people, Kursun reports, which he says "has created conditions for a somewhat peaceful environment." He also praised the government for its efforts to keep financial markets as stable as possible in extremely difficult circumstances – pointing out that the XU100 is up 7% this year at time of writing. Clients are now in a wait-and-see mode, he said — a familiar situation across much of Europe, he points out, referring both to the United Kingdom after the Brexit vote, and Spain after its recent elections. “I don’t want to be too optimistic,” he says, “but I think things will bounce back in a couple of months. And, as I said, even now very few deals have actually been cancelled; things are just moving a bit more slowly. We have received several RFPs and engagements since the failed coup.”

Finally, the subject turns to the legal market itself. When asked whether the recent police shut-down of YukselKarkin is of concern for the legal market, Kursun says no, describing it as an isolated event, and “not reflective of anything against the legal market.”  Kursun points out that ten years ago White & Case, where he himself spent nine years, was pretty much the only international firm of significance in the market, and faced little competition. “But now all the biggest international firms are here: Baker & McKenzie, Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and so on. Meanwhile Turkish firms have become more sophisticated.” In part as a result, he says, fee pressure has grown due to tough competition. “The market is ever more competitive. That's a challenge, but we take a long term view. You will always find someone buying work by offering big discounts. But that's not sustainable. Clients want and need quality advice, especially in uncertain times. Just because something's cheap doesn't mean that it's good value. Clients increasingly recognize this important difference."


BuzzIn “The Buzz” we interview experts on the legal industry living and working in Central and Eastern Europe to find out what’s happening in the region and what legislative/professional/cultural trends and developments they’re following closely.