The young Turks

In a legal market that values big-name individuals, to lose one name partner in 18 months could be considered unfortunate, to lose two is, well… Such a fate befell White & Case’s Turkish ‘affiliate’ firm, which started 2008 as the heftily monikered Derman, Düren, Akol Avukatlık Bürosu, but saw in 2009 as simply Akol Avukatlık Bürosu. The departure of Emre Derman in early 2008 for a life outside the law, and the more recent loss of Aydin Düren to become head of legal at Turkey’s Garanti Bank, might ensure that the firm’s name rolls off the tongue more easily, but it leaves it without two of the market’s legal heavyweights. As one rival managing partner, who himself unsuccessfully tried to woo Derman back to the law, says: ‘This isn’t good for White & Case’s operation. It is very hard to replace someone like Emre Derman.’

Meltem Akol, White & Case’s remaining name partner in Istanbul, is still upbeat and says that White & Case’s international network of clients and lawyers will offset any short-term fallout from the departures. ‘It isn’t like a Turkish firm that is losing partners,’ she says. ‘Emre was one of those individuals who carried the flag very well, in making this a place of first resort for many of the clients. After his departure, the younger of us have seen that the place has systems that are working. It has pipelines of business and is part of a network, so the business is there. I’m sure the departures have had an effect. If I were to guess, I’d say it wouldn’t be more than 10% in revenues. But we have been able to carry the flag as well. This year, it’s not like I’m on my own. We are part of a strong network and can call on European resources when needed.’ Akol points to US capital markets partner Laura Sizemore, who is spending more of her time in Turkey, as well as one of the Turkish founding partners Asli Basgoz, who divides her time between Istanbul and New York, where she sits as a member of the global firm’s executive committee. Basgoz’s achievements at White & Case are something that most rival Turkish partners concede are hugely impressive in their own right.

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