At Arısoy Law, we approach disputes with the experience we have built on the transactional side. As a firm that drafts contracts, designs corporate structures and negotiates partnerships, we can identify early on where a dispute originates and at what point it can be resolved. Our priority is to bring disputes to a close at the lowest possible cost while protecting our clients' commercial objectives and relationships. Where settlement is not possible, we represent our clients robustly before the courts and arbitral tribunals.
We act for Turkish and international investors, family businesses and mid-to-large scale companies in disputes arising from commercial contracts, shareholder relationships, mergers and acquisitions and cross-border trade. For clients in technology, mining, food production, construction, textiles, logistics and export-oriented industries, we build our strategy around the commercial and technical realities of their sector. In cross-border disputes, we work alongside our London desk and partner firms abroad.
The outcome of a dispute is often shaped by the steps taken in its first weeks. When a dispute arises, we first assess the legal position, the evidence, the prospects of success, the likely costs and the timeline. We present our clients with litigation, arbitration and negotiation options together with their commercial consequences, and we set the strategy together. Where there is a risk of loss of rights or dissipation of assets, we seek interim relief, such as precautionary attachments over assets and interim injunctions, before proceedings are filed. We act as party counsel in mediation, which is a mandatory precondition to litigation in commercial claims for payment and damages and in employment disputes. We treat mediation not as a formality, but as a stage that strengthens our client's position.
Our work on dispute resolution begins at the contract stage. In the contracts we draft and review, we design multi-tiered dispute resolution mechanisms, arbitration clauses, and jurisdiction and governing law provisions to fit our client's commercial structure. In contracts with foreign counterparties, we assess before signing where and how a future judgment or award could be enforced.
We act for clients in disputes arising from distribution, agency, franchise, supply and e-commerce agreements. We represent both claimants and defendants in matters including termination, goodwill indemnity, breach of non-compete obligations, defective performance and debt recovery.
Corporate disputes, particularly in family businesses and companies with multiple shareholders, directly affect the future of the company. We represent our clients in actions for the annulment of general assembly and board resolutions, minority shareholder rights, special audits, withdrawal and exclusion of shareholders, dissolution of the company for just cause, and directors' liability claims. In these proceedings, we look beyond the case itself to the functioning of the company and the relationship between its shareholders.
Our experience in mergers and acquisitions gives us a significant advantage in disputes arising from these transactions. We act for buyers and sellers in disputes over breaches of representations and warranties, indemnity claims, purchase price adjustments, earn-out payments and post-closing obligations.
In joint ventures, we advise and represent our clients on deadlock between partners, the exercise of exit mechanisms, share transfer restrictions and breaches of shareholders' agreements. Because we understand the purpose and the balance behind these agreements, we can demonstrate the commercial logic of their provisions in a dispute.
When the team that wrote the arbitration clause also conducts the proceedings, the client gains a real advantage. We know why the clause was drafted as it was, what the parties intended at the time of contracting and which risks were anticipated, so we start proceedings with a clear understanding of the case. We act for clients in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations seated in Turkiye. We handle every stage of the proceedings, from the appointment of arbitrators and the preparation of submissions to evidence, witnesses and hearings.
We also handle arbitration-related court proceedings: applications for interim injunctions and precautionary attachments before and during arbitration, actions to set aside arbitral awards, and challenges to the validity of arbitration agreements. In contracts with an international element, we advise our clients on the choice of seat, institution and rules.
A court judgment or arbitral award rendered abroad takes effect in Turkiye only through recognition or enforcement. We represent our clients in proceedings for the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and foreign arbitral awards in Turkiye. For foreign arbitral awards, we conduct the process under the New York Convention and defend the enforceability of the award against the other party's objections.
Enforcement is only meaningful if the debtor's assets can be reached. Before proceedings begin, we therefore assess the debtor's assets and financial position in Turkiye and, where necessary, secure those assets through precautionary attachments and injunctions. Once enforcement is granted, the same team pursues collection through the Turkish enforcement offices.
In disputes spanning more than one jurisdiction, our clients work with us instead of searching for a separate lawyer in each country. Our London desk, led by our solicitor admitted in England & Wales, advises clients on disputes in England and Wales. Where litigation or arbitration is required, it identifies the most suitable solicitors and barristers for the matter and coordinates the process together with the Turkish proceedings.
We work on the same model with partner firms in Europe, Southeast Asia and China. We ensure that proceedings before a foreign court move in step with interim relief or enforcement proceedings in Turkiye, bringing the steps taken under different legal systems together under a single strategy.
Our work in real estate, employment, tax, debt restructuring and family business disputes is covered on the relevant practice area pages.