Legal practice in Turkey

A long question from a colleague has been sent again with a note that the matter is now urgent. I am not sure that this is a common topic that will be of interest to Today’s Zaman readers, but this column is not solely designed to be the one with highest readership.

The letter reads as follows: “Dear Mr. Çektir: As a frequent reader of Today’s Zaman and a fellow attorney who will be moving to Turkey in the near future, I find your column on Turkish law very informative and enjoyable. You address the issues most critical to expats in easily understandable terms without losing sight of the legal underpinnings surrounding them that are of most interest to attorneys like myself. I have a specific question relating to the practice of law that I wonder if you could address for me.

I am an American attorney, practicing mainly civil and corporate litigation; however, I will be marrying a Turk and moving to İstanbul in approximately three years. Once there, I plan to complete an LLM and continue my practice. It is my understanding that the practice of law in Turkey is restricted to Turkish citizens. However, I know, too, that many of the largest firms are internationally based and have offices in İstanbul. Granted, I will gain citizenship after marriage; however, we would ideally like to marry right before moving back to İstanbul. Understandably, I do not want to wait three years to gain citizenship before I can become a member of the Turkish bar and continue my practice.

Many years of law school and several state bars is too much work and dedication to a career to just sit around in Turkey and twiddle my thumbs for three years before resuming my profession! My question is, therefore, how do foreigners practice in Turkey? Does the Turkish bar allow some type of reciprocity or all they simply need-based advisors to the Turkish attorneys the firms employ to resolve this issue?”

Dear colleague, being a licensed lawyer in Turkey requires having Turkish citizenship in the first place. However, Article 44 of the Turkish Attorney’s Code provides that foreign lawyers are able to provide legal services in Turkey with the condition of reciprocity and limited to services related to foreigners and international law. This is a very touchy issue; the Turkish Federation of Bar Associations has filed several lawsuits against foreign persons and foreign lawyers carrying out activities in Turkey in the past.

“The second part of the hope is that as a practicing attorney in Turkey with experience dealing with foreigners and expat-related issues, you might be able to offer some help to clear up this issue for me. As I don’t know any foreign attorneys working in Turkey to whom I can pose this question any guidance would be much appreciated,” the letter continues.

Even if you did know any, these people would not disclose information if you are not close enough.

“Also, I have one final question for you: Do you suggest proceeding with an LLM? As of right now, it appears that only İstanbul University offers such a program though I’ve heard rumblings that Koç is developing an English-based degree as well. Or if foreign attorneys are required to complete the year of court/firm training in order to become a member of the bar, do you suggest skipping the LLM and directly completing the training year instead? Again, any suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you for your answers to these questions. I very much look forward to hearing from you soon,” my colleague adds. I would suggest that you proceed with an LLM. I am not sure that you will be able to proceed with the training period soon, and it would be better to start the LLM, which in a worst case scenario you can take together with the training period. Todays Zaman