Professional notice
The trusted Turkish firm makes its first appearance in the 100 this year
- People in Who’s Who:
- 1
- Pending cases as counsel:
- 2
- Value of pending counsel work:
- US$80 million
- Treaty cases:
- 0
The firm got its start in arbitration in 1968 when founder Fadlullah Cerrahoǧlu got his first appointment as an arbitrator in a domestic case. Since then, it has become one of the local practices that is regularly sought as co-counsel on international cases.
Cerrahoǧlu – who is beloved among the lawyers of Istanbul (he taught many of them) – has handled upwards of 25 arbitrations as counsel and also sits as an arbitrator. He was part of a committee that revised the arbitration rules of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. The man is regarded as “a pillar of the Turkish legal community”, to quote one source.
Since 2003, the firm has regularly taken part in ICC cases, and has also appeared on an ICSID case against Turkey as co-counsel with White & Case, obtaining a US$9 million award for electricity investors PSEG Global and Konya Ilgin in 2007.
The practice is also home to younger partner Eda Cerrahoǧlu Balssen.
The team works for Turkish and international corporations, particularly in telecoms and energy. Clients have included Kanel, Leydot, and Bas¸arı.
When GAR Live visited Istanbul in 2013, Fadlullah Cerrahoǧlu’s contribution was one of the highlights of the day.
We have extensive experience in both domestic and international arbitration. For over 20 years, we have been representing Turkish and multinational clients, including big corporations and governmental entities before ICC, ICSID and local arbitral tribunals in relation to complex commercial and investment disputes.
Our clients come from a wide range of industry sectors including energy, banking, construction, food, petroleum and telecommunications.
We generally act as counsel in arbitrations governed by Turkish law with seat in Turkey and abroad. We also offer our clients our services in arbitrations governed by foreign law in cooperation with our global network of very valuable international arbitration practitioners.
Prof. Dr. M. Fadlullah Cerrahoğlu, the Founder and Managing Partner of Cerrahoğlu, and Mrs. Eda Cerrahoğlu Balssen lead our arbitration practice.
Prof. Dr. M. Fadlullah Cerrahoğlu has acted as counsel in more than thirty arbitrations. He also acted as co-arbitrator and chairman in a number of others. He is listed as an arbitrator at ICC and ICSID. He has taken part in many seminars and conferences on arbitration as guest speaker.
Mrs. Eda Cerrahoğlu Balssen has been focusing on arbitration since 2005. She regularly writes articles on updates on arbitration in Turkey and participates in conferences and seminars as guest speaker.
Legal Media Group Euromoney has recently named our Firm as the “Best Arbitration Law Firm" of the year in Turkey for 2014.
Our Firm has also been recognized in Band 1 by Chambers and Partners in 2014 particularly for its international arbitration practice.
Furthermore, Corporate International Magazine named our Firm as the “International Arbitration Advisory Firm of the Year in Turkey” in 2010.