Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has formed an alliance with top-tier Turkish law firm Pekin Bayar Mizrahi in Istanbul. 

The full service firm is one of the largest in Turkey with around 50 lawyers and is currently led by Selin Bayar, granddaughter of the firm’s founder M. Fethi Pekin, and disputes partner Ergin Mizrahi. 

NRF said the firm’s practice areas, which include banking and finance, M&A, capital markets, dispute resolution, corporate and contracts law, complement the offering of its own Istanbul office.

Ayşe Yüksel Mahfoud, NRF’s global head of corporate, M&A and securities who has served as partner-in-charge of the firm’s Istanbul office since it opened in 2011, commented: “Norton Rose Fulbright has been advising clients in Turkey for more than twenty-five years. We have a strong track record of collaboration with Pekin Bayar Mizrahi; this alliance is a logical progression of that relationship,” adding that the alliance “will greatly enhance our capabilities related to Turkish legal advice and cross-border consulting for our domestic as well as international clients.”

Yüksel Mahfoud was promoted to lead the NRF's global corporate, M&A and securities team earlier this year in a move that also saw banking partner Nick Grandage become the firm’s banking and finance practice head from its London headquarters. 

Bayar commented: “There is demand for sophisticated cross-border legal services in Turkey, and we have put ourselves in an advantageous position by deepening our relationship with a truly global firm like Norton Rose Fulbright. We have great professional respect for one another, and we look forward to working even more closely together.”

NRF is also associated with Inal Unver Attorney Partnership, another law firm based in Istanbul, which received a boost last year when project finance partner Utku Unver joined the office from Allen & Overy in October. 

NRF’s recent work in the Turkey includes representing Turkish manufacturing company Arçelik in connection with the €78.3m acquisition of Whirlpool's wholly owned subsidiary in the country. The firm also acted for Turkish carbon fibre manufacturer DowAksa in a $100m project finance loan obtained from a club of Turkish banks.