General — frequently asked questions

In the first meeting we assess the legal position of your case, the possible routes and the likely timeline. The consultation fee and the legal fee are set on the basis of the Minimum Attorney Fee Tariff and the recommended tariff of the Istanbul Bar Association, and are stated to you clearly before the meeting. There are no surprise charges.

The fee depends on the nature of the work, its expected duration, the complexity of the file and the value of the claim. In monetary claims a proportional fee may apply in addition to the fixed fee. The fee agreement is made in writing and the payment plan is set out at the start. Under the Attorneys Act, a fee below the minimum in the tariff cannot be agreed.

The duration depends on the court’s caseload, the state of the evidence and whether an expert report is needed. As a rough guide: an uncontested divorce takes a single hearing, a contested divorce 1–3 years, an employment claim 1–2 years, criminal files 1–3 years, and an enforcement proceeding 2–3 months if no objection is filed. An appeal can add 1–2 years. We give you a more realistic estimate for your own file at the first meeting.

You can obtain a "general litigation power of attorney" from any notary with your identity document. In divorce cases and in recognition and enforcement proceedings a power of attorney with a photograph is mandatory. We send you the required details in writing (the lawyer’s name, bar registration number and national identity number). If you are abroad, you can also have it issued at a Turkish consulate.

Yes. Our office is in Bakırköy, but we handle cases in all 39 districts of Istanbul and across Turkey. The first meeting can be held online by video call; hearings and enforcement steps take place at the relevant courthouse. Files on the Anatolian side are handled at the Anadolu Courthouse, and those on the northern axis at Çağlayan.

Yes. Video calls, telephone and e-mail are all workable ways of following a file. You can send your documents digitally and post the power of attorney after having it issued by a notary. This is how we run the files of clients living abroad.

Mediation is a condition of bringing an action for employment claims, commercial claims, lease disputes and part of consumer cases; a case filed without it is dismissed on procedural grounds. A party who fails to attend the first meeting without valid excuse, even if wholly or partly successful in the case, is liable for half of the litigation costs the other side is ordered to pay, and only half of the attorney fee is awarded in their favour; if neither party attends, each bears its own costs. In consumer disputes this sanction does not apply against the consumer.