DİLŞAD, Çiğdem, Zelal, Ecem, Gökçe, Şafak, and Meltem — young European Turks — are hosting Turkish and German guests at the famous Artists' House (Künstlerhaus) in Munich.
They all speak at least two or three languages. Some have finished law, some are political scientists; there are marketing and communications specialists among them as well... The number of law graduates has increased incredibly in recent years; in Hamburg, for instance, there was not a single Turkish lawyer in 1997... In Germany this number has risen to 500. Why do Turks choose the legal profession? As the children of immigrants, they seek ‘justice' against the exclusion they have experienced. Because their parents did not know the language well, from a young age they dealt with bureaucratic and judicial matters, in a sense becoming ‘their parents' lawyers.' And once you add to this citizenship procedures, marriage, divorce, social assistance, real estate and rental problems, and ‘swindles' such as Yimpaş, Kombassan, Jetpa, and Deniz Feneri... As the children of families who have suffered wrongs, they cling to the ‘scales of justice,' the only path to a solution. As mutual economic relations develop and thereby accelerate this cultural integration, the need for Turkish jurists in international investments is also increasing. And so these young people, having studied EU and German law, become part of the ‘brain gain' for Turkey with all this accumulated experience. At a conference in Munich on ‘investment perspectives and the legal framework in Turkey,' we came face to face with these realities. We watched closely; they had a leader. Dr. Mehmet Köksal — who was born and raised in Turkey and, after completing his legal education, earned his doctorate in Germany, and who teaches at Yeditepe and Nuremberg universities — hosted this conference as part of the opening of the Munich Office. It was striking that, for the first time, a Turkish law firm was taking a step to create an international ‘legal brand' within the European Union region. German experts made interesting assessments of Turkey. Dr. Mehmet Köksal, who serves as counsel to many German firms, underlined an important point. “By opening offices in Turkey, and sometimes by acquiring successful Turkish law firms, large international law firms do not create added value in our country, as is assumed. They only pay staff salaries and issue all their invoices in their own countries. Because of the invoices they issue from abroad, Turkey suffers tax losses. In this respect, Turkish law firms must also be encouraged so that they can become international brands. We established Köksal Attorney Partnership for this very purpose; this is why we began operating in Germany.” The Partnership brings advisory services on Turkish legislation, in their own language and culture, right to the door of the firms it encourages to invest in Turkey. In turn, it is reported that the number of foreign law firms in Turkey has reached 40. Their most recent work is the fight they wage against ‘brand counterfeiting'...
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