Müge Şengönül
LL.M.
Attorney at Law
Partner
Background
Müge Şengönül is a founding partner of GEMS Schindhelm, the Turkish member of the Schindhelm Alliance, established in 2018.
Before the firm was founded she worked for nine years as in-house counsel in Turkey; from 2009 to 2014 she was legal counsel to the Turkish companies of the REMONDIS Group and from 2014 to 2018 to the Turkish companies of the Deutsche Messe Group.
Müge Şengönül graduated from the German High School Istanbul (İstanbul Alman Lisesi) in 2001 and from the Faculty of Law of Istanbul University in 2005. In 2006 she completed her master's degree (LL.M.) in corporate law at Freie Universität Berlin; after returning from Berlin she completed her legal traineeship at Özbek Avukatlık Ortaklığı in Istanbul.
Müge Şengönül has been a member of the Istanbul Bar Association since 2008.
She works in Turkish, German and English.
Müge Şengönül has been listed in the Private Practice Powerlist published by The Legal 500 among the leading lawyers in dispute resolution in Turkey.
Müge Şengönül advises foreign-owned companies, in particular German corporate groups, on their operations and investments in Turkey. Her nine years as in-house counsel have given her first-hand knowledge of the needs of management boards and legal departments, and she assesses legal questions together with the business decisions behind them and their practical consequences.
Her practice focuses on corporate law and acquisitions. In company and share transfers in Turkey she runs the legal process from due diligence through the drafting and negotiation of the transaction documents to closing and post-closing steps, and makes the required merger control filings before the Turkish Competition Authority. Her ongoing corporate advice to subsidiaries covers capital measures, restructurings and general assemblies as well as the design of corporate governance structures, the delegation of management authority and the allocation of duties and responsibilities between corporate bodies and senior executives.
In contract law she drafts and negotiates supply, distribution, service and commercial lease agreements governed by Turkish law and handles the termination of contractual relationships, the assertion of the resulting claims and the defence against claims directed at her clients. She adapts the general terms and conditions of foreign companies to Turkish law and advises on the registration and protection of foreign trademarks in Turkey.
During her time at the REMONDIS Group she gained experience in waste and recycling regulation and in public procurement law, in particular in the participation of foreign companies in tenders of Turkish municipalities and public authorities. Drawing on the sector knowledge acquired at the Deutsche Messe Group, she advises trade fair organisers and exhibitors on trade fair and event law and drafts and negotiates participation conditions, supplier, cooperation and lease agreements and the other contracts relating to international trade fairs held in Turkey.
In debt recovery she represents foreign creditors in enforcement proceedings against debtors in Turkey and in the related court actions, and conducts the proceedings for the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and arbitral awards in Turkey.
In employment law she drafts and negotiates the contracts and policies governing companies' employment relationships, in particular executive employment agreements, non-compete agreements and bonus schemes. She also advises on corporate restructurings and on the termination of employment relationships and represents employers before the labour courts, above all in reinstatement and compensation actions.
In data protection and compliance she advises on the implementation of the Turkish Data Protection Law (KVKK) and on the establishment of whistleblowing systems, and acts as external ombudsperson and compliance manager in the whistleblowing channels of Turkish subsidiaries.