Esin Attorney Partnership, Member Firm of Baker & McKenzie International, a Swiss Verein fields a team which is ‘highly knowledgeable and skilled in the field of employment law’. Practice head Elif Nur Çakır Vurgun, who was promoted to partner in July 2023 and whose ‘level of client-centric service distinguishes her from her peers‘ is supported by senior associate Gökhan Akçaalan, who has experience in both contentious and non-contentious employment matters. As a team, it is able to call upon Baker McKenzie’s global network, allowing it to handle a range of cross-border employment matters for its clients.

As well as appearing in court on behalf of international businesses in cross-border employment disputes, Hergüner Bilgen Üçer Attorney Partnership‘s employment team is also active in collective bargaining agreements, a feature of the wider market in Turkey. Its deep bench includes practice heads Ayşe Hergüner Bilgen, Tolga Danışman, Ufuk Yalçın and İsmet Bozoğlu, with each partner bringing a wealth of experience to the team. Bozoğlu is a key corporate law expert, while Danışman focuses on the group’s contentious matters. The employment department also provides day-to-day advice on labour contracts and C-suite terminations.

Kolcuoglu Demirkan Koçakli, whose diverse workload incorporates M&A-related matters, executive employment contracts and incentive plans, ‘is very experienced in employment matters which require market practice and experience of real-life relationships between employers and employees’. Running the team are Okan Demirkan, who ‘is very practical and result oriented in the way he works’ and Maral Minasyan, who ‘is a problem-solver like no other’. Elsewhere, Rami Arda Yörükoğlu is often called upon for labour disputes owing to his extensive experience in this area.

The ‘very organised team‘ at Moroglu Arseven acts predominantly for employers and is led by İpek Ünlü Tık, who has experience in assisting clients across the full life cycle of employment matters, including litigation and alternative dispute resolution. The highly regarded Benan Arseven is a name to note for corporate structuring matters. Kaan Başer, who ‘is dedicated and willing to provide fast responses’, is another key practitioner in the department, as is Burcu Tuzcu Ersin, who ‘is a very valuable and high-level partner offering pragmatic and business-oriented solutions to her clients’.

Aksan Law Firm is highlighted for its ‘detailed legal opinions and precedent-setting court decisions‘. The employment team regularly works with the human resources departments of its clients. The group is active in labour disputes, having appeared in 4,500 labour court hearings and more than 300 labour mediation meetings in 2023. Practice head Fatma Gamze Telli is supported by founding partner Muhammet Aksan and Oktay Şener.

Galip M. Selçuk heads the employment department at Balcioglu Selçuk Ardiyok Keki, which is instructed by companies operating across a range of sectors, including hotels and leisure, technology, manufacturing and retail. The workload is equally diverse, ranging from drafting and negotiating executive-level employees’ employment agreements, severance agreements and incentive plans, to discrimination and harassment litigation. Selim Keki and Doğan Eymirlioğlu stand out for their M&A expertise, making them well placed to advise clients on the employment aspects of M&A. Gözde Manav Kılıçbeyli is a key contact for employment advice relating to domestic and cross-border transactions.

Bener Law Office‘s ‘proactive and agile‘ employment law group works for large employers and unions alike, and clients call on the group for advice on a range of employment and social security law. The scope of advice given by the group runs the gamut from documentation to high-level investigations. Group head Batuhan Şahmay is highlighted for his 'extensive knowledge' and 'good organisational skills’, which are also key features of the group more generally.

BTS & Partners ‘provides excellent, user-friendly advice across a wide range of employment-related matters’. Selin Beceni and Zeynep Unlu jointly lead the team, which focuses on sector-specific practices alongside its employment work. As well as providing assistance in regulatory compliance and offering day-to-day advice, Beceni and Unlu are also strong in localising employment agreements and contract drafting, emblematic of the practice more broadly.

The group at Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants ‘places clients at the forefront of the practice‘, ably dealing with day-to-day employment law matters as well as more specific issues such as social security provisions and health and safety in the workplace. Leading the team are Zihni Bilgehan and Ergun Ersoy, the latter of whom regularly acts for ship owners and P&I clubs. Bilgehan is a key contact for corporate matters and employment-related M&A issues.

Goksu Safi Isik Attorney Partnership‘s sizeable team offers clients a full service in employment law, advising across the life cycle of labour matters. The group excels in litigious matters, and often represents clients in relation to termination and subsequent litigation. Its client base includes the human resources departments of corporations in Turkey as well as private individuals. Team leader Banu Mert has significant employment law expertise, enabling him to provide clients with advice on day-to-day employment matters as well as specific labour issues.

At Gunbay Kural Abbasoglu Law Firm, ‘the employment team is highly experienced in labour law’, receives mandates from a variety of clients, and ‘is aware of the practice, court decisions and application of the law in Turkey’. Indeed, practice heads Ahu Pamukkale and Duygu Abbasoğlu Ceyhan are experienced in labour law, and are active in related disputes, with the former being a qualified mediator and arbitrator, and the latter heading up the firm’s litigation practice. As well as compliance and day-to-day employment issues, the group also deals with a range of restructuring mandates.

The ‘dedicated team with a lot of experience’ at Moral | Kınıkoğlu | Pamukkale Attorney Partnership acts for large corporations such as Kraft Heinz, and the team as a whole assisted clients with a large volume of employment matters during 2023. Özgür Güner, who specialises in employment law, leads the team. More widely, the group is able to advise on a range of employment matters, including regulatory and compliance work, and is praised for its ‘professional and exceptionally knowledgeable’ practitioners. Eylül Bengisu Gümüş is a name to note at the associate level.

Elvan Aziz runs the employment practice at Paksoy, which adopts a multidisciplinary approach and works closely with the firm’s M&A, corporate and commercial, tax, litigation and compliance departments. The group is engaged in a range of labour matters including the drafting of employment contracts, the preparation of warning and defence letters, bonus schemes, personnel handbooks and other matters. Aziz herself is particularly active in advising clients on C-level hirings and terminations.

Pelister Atayilmaz Enkur Law Office has a broad employment practice, providing a wide range of services to clients, from outsourcing agreements all the way to termination procedures. The group, though, stands out for its work on complex work and residency permit related enquiries for foreign white- and blue-collar employees. Practice head Emre Atayilmaz, who is known for his employment work in the real estate and hospitality sectors, is well supported by Alperen Erbay.

At Çakmak Attorney Partnership, Mesut Çakmak, Zeynep Çakmak, Gülsen Engin and Elif Demiröz lead the employment law team, which is known for being ‘collaborative and open to interaction’. In relation to disputes in particular, newly appointed practice head Demiröz is a standout member of the team. As well as local companies, the group counts international embassies as clients, often providing regulatory advice in line with both Turkish law and the law of the country in which the embassy is based.

Egemenoglu Law Firm, with offices in Istanbul and Bursa, deals with contentious and non-contentious employment matters and is described as ‘helpful and empathetic’. Its clients include international and local companies of varying sizes. Dilek Gürsan and Fazilet Karabacaklar head up the team, which has expertise in collective bargaining law. Indeed, a recent highlight for the practice saw it being engaged to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement for a new client whose workforce had recently unionised.

At Gün + Partners, the team has ‘experience both in employment law and the pharmaceuticals sector‘ as well as the technology industry. Practice head Beril Yayla Sapan focuses on employment, dispute management, business crime and anti-corruption. Ezgi Kut, who was promoted to senior associate in 2022, is a key practitioner, as is managing associate Asena Aytuğ Keser, who has an extensive employment practice, including employment contracts, terminations and personnel management, among other matters.

Güner Law Office often advises on the preparation of employment agreements for blue-collar and white-collar workers. The group assists a range of Turkish companies, as well as subsidiaries of international companies, on matters including disputes involving mediation and court proceedings. Practice head Burçak Çitak has a strong track record in working on issues such as terminations, redundancies and cross-border M&A transactions. Uğurkan Şeber left the firm.

Özdirekcan Dündar Şenocak Ak in partnership with Gide Loyrette Nouel‘s practitioners are praised for being ‘exceptionally good at finding the most appropriate, business-friendly solutions to legal issues’ which clients are faced with. At the helm is Ali Osman Ak, who has significant expertise in employment law matters and has a strong record in assisting clients with human resources management and related issues. On the contentious side, the group often assists clients with drafting petitions after litigation procedures.

TURUNÇ‘s employment team’s ‘depth of expertise is unique’. This expertise includes the preparation, review and negotiation of employment contracts and settlement agreements of key employees. Noyan Turunç and managing associate Gizem Günel run the team, which regularly handles the employment aspects of major M&A transactions and business transfers.

ADMD/Mavioglu & Alkan Law Office is referred to by one client as a ‘first-class firm’, which is ‘solution and service focused, with high-quality work’. The full-service offering is well placed to provide advice on employment-related regulatory compliance matters. Another key area of work for the group is compensation and benefits, and there is a specific group within the employment department dedicated to this. Practice heads Alara Baykal and seasoned litigator Gokce Sanlierli are instrumental to the team’s work.

Baysal & Demir‘s lawyers assist large industrial companies and international technology companies in employment law, utilising proficiency in both Turkish and German law. Practice heads Ulaş Baysal and Muhittin Astarlı are ‘among the most recognised professors in the field of employment law in Turkey’ and are active in advising clients in this field, with standout recent mandates including collective bargaining agreements.

CBC Law expanded its team in 2023, hiring two partners and a senior associate from Karahan & Aydın in April 2023: Gürhan Aydın, who leads the team alongside Kemal Altuğ Özgün and key litigator Torehan Buyuksoy. The latter is key for the group’s work in the Turkish Labour Courts. Established in 2020, the group’s workload covers a broad spectrum of matters, from labour law compliance to data privacy and tax restructuring.

Cukur & Partners ‘stands out for its expertise in a field in which knowledge and experience are very important’. The team is strong in assisting clients with HR policies. Ayça Kortel, who ‘can easily identify the legal needs of the company and offer relevant solutions’, leads the team alongside Evrim Çukur Güreşen, who is a founding partner of the firm and one of the many members of the ‘qualified team, which is always ready to help’.

Erdem & Erdem Law Office assists clients with both contentious and non-contentious employment matters. Piraye Erdem and Süleyman Sevinç are at the helm of the team, which ‘offers a very good service because of both its depth of theoretical knowledge and extensive experience of practical application’.

Görkem Gökçe and Müberra Gürdal head up Gökçe‘s team, which adopts a multidisciplinary approach and incorporates elements of law from a range of practice areas, including corporate and commercial. The team is also skilled in mediation arising from labour law disputes. Other areas of work include advising on employment agreements, unilateral termination, transfer of employees and workplaces. Sector strengths for the group include highly regulated industries such as aviation, insurance and healthcare.

The team at KP Law in Istanbul ‘values timing, distinctive solutions for any legal problems and effective research for all kinds of legal issues‘. Work handled ranges from recruitment and performance management to HR issues and regulatory compliance matters. Çigdem Soysal and Isil Doganay head up the team and are supported by associate Alperen Koçalan, who has experience in the retail and industrial manufacturing sectors.

NAZALI Attorney Partnership‘s employment practice, led by Çağdaş Güren, Nazif Karataş, Nurefşan Kandemir and Hülya Yorganlı, offers ‘efficient suggestions to resolve distressed processes with regards to the employees, such as termination of employment contracts’. The group’s breadth of sector knowledge is also notable, as is its regulatory work. Elsewhere, employment litigation and advice on collective bargaining agreements are key streams of work.

Alongside day-to-day employment matters, the labour practice at Öncel, Aydin & Uygun Attorney Partnership is equipped to assist clients in litigation, acting for companies active in a broad range of sectors. Litigator Buğra Aydın and Erman Öncel, who advises international clients, jointly lead the department.

TOCC Attorney Partnership's employment department is a popular choice among domestic and international companies. The group is jointly led by versatile lawyer Tolga Cabakli and Ilkay Cetinel, who is also a member of the dispute resolution practice at the firm and is a key contact for contentious labour law matters.

Yavuz & Uyanik is well versed in employment litigation and compliance, among other matters. Practice head Murat Uyanık has a strong track record in handling negotiations relating to collective labour law matters. Other key contacts include Renan Ak, Esra Ulcay and Nazan Akyürek.

Yazici Attorney Partnership, whose ‘easy contact and prompt responses‘ are among its key strengths, works on day-to-day employment issues and undertakes mediation for clients. Its practitioners are based in Istanbul and Ankara, providing clients with broad domestic coverage. The group’s work often centres around employment law regulatory advice. Elif Karagözoğlu leads the team alongside Şener Özkan.

Forming part of CMS’s large international network, YBK Law Firm in Cooperation with CMS offers clients a full service, including in disputes both in and outside of the courts. Non-contentious employment law matters also feature in the group's workload. Managing partner Döne Yalcin and Alican Babalıoğlu jointly lead the team, with Yalcin being a key name for the firm's regulatory mandates.