New Turkey office set to mark 22nd European location for DLA

DLA Piper is set to launch an office in Turkey, subject to licence approval expected later this month.

The international law firm is gearing up to expand into Istanbul, with an office opening set for 1 May.

The firm will relocate Italian finance consultant Francesco Ferrari to the office to set up operations. The practice will continue to work alongside a local Turkish firm to practise domestic law.

DLA Piper has been looking into opening in the country since acting on the Kaiseri hospital project, which will become the first hospital built in Turkey using a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

The launch is being overseen by the firm’s Italian regional partner Federico Sutti.

Sutti said: “After working on a number of big deals in Turkey I realised that this was a very interesting country and much more open than I would have expected.

“The market was changing and there was an opportunity to have a presence there and we decided it was important for the firm’s global strategy. We will have a close relationship with a local firm, which, added to our own team, will give us a total of around 50 lawyers on the ground when we launch.”

The firm already has offices in 21 different European destinations including neighbouring country Bulgaria.

Most recently, the firm launched in Brazil in March in an alliance with local firm Campos Mello Pontes Vinci & Schiller. Chicago corporate finance partner Stuart Berkson – the chair of DLA’s Latin American practice – and New York project finance partner Bob Gruendel have taken permanent residency in Brazil.

The firm will set up its own office there when it receives approval from the Brazilian authorities