Taylor Wessing Czech Republic attorney initiator of successful Turkish Desk project

Young lawyer with an innovative approach Kristýna Koç, LL.M., of Taylor Wessing Czech Republic, together with managing partner Dr. Erwin Hanslik spearheaded the creation of the Turkish Desk, recently launched by CEE Taylor Wessing, based in Vienna.

Taylor Wessing has thus become one of the few law firms offering comprehensive legal advice to Turkish companies and investors looking to enter CEE markets, but also to European companies aiming to enter the Turkish market.

“We are delighted the project Kristýna initiated in our office has taken off, and is now so successful and significant that it has been implemented on a CEE level by our Vienna office“ said Taylor Wessing Czech Republic’s Managing Partner Dr. Erwin Hanslik.

Turkey is considered a key trading partner both in Europe and elsewhere around the world. Its economy is the nineteenth strongest in the world and even during the pandemic the economic growth there was 13% of GDP.

In its 2022 report the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies recognized Turkey’s very important geopolitical and geo-economic role as well as its great growth potential under suitable economic policies, and this in spite of challenges then posed by the Covid-19 pandemic in its early stages. The EU is considered one of Turkey's most important trading partners and benefits from economic development there in the long term.

“Any law firm active globally must include Turkey in its business strategy. In Kristýna and Tuğçe (Tuğçe Yalçın, head of Turkish representation for Central and Eastern Europe in Taylor Wessing's Vienna office) our team features two lawyers who understand clients' needs very well and are able to provide the best possible support needed. We expect to have more Turkish representation members in CEE soon," says CEE Managing Partner Raimund Cancola.
Kristýna Koç passed the bar in May 2022. Specializing mainly in commercial contracts, consumer protection and compliance, she has also joined the Life&Science team. She has worked at Taylor Wessing Czech Republic since 2012, first as a student attracted to the international office environment and the opportunity to put languages to use, especially German. She graduated from the Austrian Gymnasium in Prague and took a year-long scholarship in Vienna.

During her legal traineeship, Kristýna Koç worked closely with Erwin Hanslik in the Real Estate team. She interrupted her traineeship only due to parental leave, during which she completed the LL.M. programme at the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague with a focus on health law.

Thanks to her husband originally from Turkey, she learned to speak fluent Turkish, consistently expanding her network of contacts within the Turkish community while travelling intensively between Istanbul and Prague. With her husband she founded the Czech-Turkish Friendship Association to promote bilingualism among children. They regularly organize meetings of Turkish, Czech and mixed families, educational and sporting events, especially for children.

Knowledge of Turkish and the local business environment has proved to be an advantage in professional life as well, especially on the basis of the first requests for legal advice from Turkish clients. As a result, the Turkish Desk was promptly established at Taylor Wessing Czech Republic, run by Kristýna together with Managing Partner Dr. Hanslik.

Kristýna Koç is proactive in directly reaching out to potential clients in Turkey, participating in business missions and conferences, cooperating with both countries' embassies as well as professional organizations and interest groups. Turkish clients particularly appreciate the firm's language and technical expertise, professionalism, flexibility and readiness to understand their needs. For Turkish clients in business, trust is key, and through her work Kristýna Koç gains such trust with ease.

The Turkish Desk originated as a project of Taylor Wessing Czech Republic to offer comprehensive legal advice to Turkish businesses and investors entering or about to enter the CEE markets. At the same time, it offers assistance and advice to European companies that are in turn preparing to enter the Turkish market.