Serka Law Firm is an international, cross-border legal practice that helps foreign investors, founders, families, and counterparties handle Turkey-linked matters through one coordinated lane of counsel. When a file spans company, property, immigration, and dispute work at the same time, you get a single point of legal and factual coordination instead of disconnected specialist fragments.
We work with clients wherever they are and write to them in their own language, so the firm functions as your bridge into the Turkish legal system whether the work begins in Istanbul, in your home jurisdiction, or across both. The sections below explain who we help, the practice areas international clients most often need, how an engagement starts, what documents matter, how a lawyer’s fee is set under Turkish law, and why cross-border clients route their Turkey work through us.
Who does Serka Law Firm represent?
We represent foreign investors, company founders, expatriate families, and overseas counterparties whose legal matters touch Turkey. These clients usually need a coordinated route across several legal areas rather than a single isolated service, because a real cross-border file rarely stays inside one practice lane.
The four profiles this page is written for are:
- Investors and founders entering the Turkish market or expanding an existing operation, who need company formation, regulatory clarity, and transaction control in one place.
- Buyers and families whose file already spans more than one legal area, such as a property purchase combined with a residence permit or an inheritance question.
- Companies and counterparties managing contracts, disputes, compliance, or transaction risk connected to a Turkish party, asset, or contract.
- International clients who want a firm-level route and a clear assessment before the matter is split into narrower service lanes.
What practice areas do international clients most often need?
Cross-border clients usually arrive with a primary need and one or two secondary issues attached to it. We coordinate the whole file so the lead matter and the connected risks are planned together rather than solved in isolation. The practice areas international clients use most are below, each linked to a dedicated page.
- Company and market entry. Forming a Turkish company, structuring shareholdings, and meeting corporate compliance under the Turkish Commercial Code (Law No. 6102). See establishing companies in Turkey and corporate and commercial law.
- Investment and real estate. Acquiring property safely with title verification, and structuring inbound investment. See real estate law and property acquisition and foreign direct investment.
- Immigration and citizenship. Residence permits, work permits, and the investor route to a Turkish passport. See immigration and residence permits and citizenship by investment counsel.
- Disputes and enforcement. Litigation, arbitration, and recovery of money owed. See international commercial litigation, international arbitration, and debt collection and execution.
- Family and personal matters. Cross-border divorce, custody, and inheritance questions for expatriate families. See family issues and divorce cases.
Connected areas we handle within the same coordinated file include employment and work permits, tax and customs, technology and data privacy, and criminal defense where a commercial matter develops a regulatory or enforcement dimension.
How does cross-border legal coordination work in practice?
Coordination means one lead lawyer owns the whole file and keeps the connected issues mapped against each other. Instead of you managing separate specialists who do not talk to one another, the firm identifies the primary legal lane, places the secondary risks around it, and sequences the work so each step protects the next.
This matters because Turkey-linked matters routinely overlap. A market-entry plan touches company law, tax, and immigration at once. A property purchase touches title verification, currency rules, and often residence or citizenship. A dispute touches the underlying contract, evidence preservation, and enforcement strategy. Handling these threads as one structured plan reduces both cost and risk, because decisions are made in the right order.
How does an engagement start and what documents are needed?
An engagement starts with a scoped review of the documents already in motion and a short chronology of what has happened. The work is then agreed in a signed engagement agreement, which names the lead legal lane, the connected risks and the fee.
For most cross-border firm-level matters, the useful starting documents are:
- Commercial documents already in play, such as draft contracts, shareholder or company records, or transaction term sheets.
- Property documents, including title deed (tapu) details and any sale or reservation agreement.
- Identity and status documents, such as passport and, where relevant, residence or visa records.
- Any authority notices, court papers, or official correspondence already received.
- A brief written chronology of events and the result you want.
You do not need a complete set to begin. A partial file is enough to start, and missing items are identified as the work proceeds.
What does it cost to engage a law firm for cross-border work?
Under Turkish law the fee is agreed in the engagement agreement, which must name the legal service and the sum or value (Article 163 of Attorneyship Law no. 1136). What it covers depends on whether the immediate need is market entry, transaction control, dispute management, or an urgent file where several risks already overlap, and no fee may be agreed below the minimum-fee tariff that the Union of Turkish Bar Associations prepares each year (Articles 164 and 168).
Which languages does the firm work in?
Serka Law Firm advises international clients in English and works across the firm’s client languages so cross-border instructions are understood precisely on both sides. Legal terminology is handled by qualified lawyers rather than literal translation, which matters because a mistranslated term in a Turkish contract or court filing can change its legal effect.
Why do cross-border clients choose Serka Law Firm?
International clients choose the firm for route clarity. The first value we add is identifying the right legal lane and mapping the secondary issues around it, so the file moves in a sensible order rather than reacting to whichever problem becomes urgent first.
Clients also value a single coordination point. When outside stakeholders, banks, or authorities need one factual and legal contact for a Turkey-linked matter, the firm provides it. And because the practice is built around cross-border work, the advice accounts for how Turkish law interacts with your home jurisdiction, including the framework for which country’s law applies under the Turkish Code on Private International Law (Law No. 5718).
What are the most common mistakes international clients make?
The mistakes that recur in cross-border files are avoidable with early coordination:
- Treating each Turkey-linked issue as if it can be solved in isolation, when the issues are connected.
- Choosing counsel on branding alone instead of route clarity and fit to the actual problem.
- Signing, hiring, paying, or transferring assets before the legal structure has been checked.
- Waiting until a dispute or authority problem becomes urgent before building the record that would have protected the position.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to travel to Turkey to instruct the firm?
Not necessarily. Many cross-border matters are handled remotely, and where physical presence or signatures are required they can often be managed through a notarised power of attorney. The engagement agreement sets out what, if anything, requires your attendance.
Can a foreigner own property or a company in Turkey?
Yes. Foreign nationals can own real estate and form companies in Turkey, subject to specific rules and, for property, certain location and reciprocity restrictions. The firm verifies eligibility and clears the legal checks before you commit funds.
Can one firm handle several connected matters at once?
Yes. That is the purpose of a firm-level engagement. We identify the main legal lane, map the secondary issues around it, and run them as one coordinated plan rather than disconnected pieces of advice.
How quickly can the firm respond to an urgent matter?
For urgent files, such as an authority notice, a freezing risk, or a deadline-driven dispute, the time-sensitive steps are protected first and the rest of the file is built around them.
One lawyer across company, property, immigration and dispute
If your Turkey-linked matter already spans company, property, immigration, or dispute risk, one coordinated legal route is more useful than separate, disconnected advice. Tell us which of those strands are live, where the parties sit and what falls due first; WhatsApp +90 530 127 59 35 and info@serkalaw.com both reach the firm, and the remaining channels are on the contact page.
This page provides general information about cross-border legal services in Turkey and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed until a signed engagement is in place.