Below is the Legal Advisory and Retainer Agreement, which forms the basis of our professional relationship with our clients and is drafted with the principles of transparency and mutual trust.
Power of Attorney Agreement
1. PARTIES TO THE CONTRACT
1.1. The parties acknowledge that their information is shown in the table below, that this contract, which covers a certain legal assistance and amount or value, has a proving value and is in accordance with the law, has been freely drawn up and signed in accordance with their own will and in accordance with Articles 163 et seq. of the Attorneyship Law and within the scope of what is stated in this contract.
1.2. The Principal agrees to deliver a photocopy of his/her valid identity document and a copy of his/her tax certificate (if a legal entity) to the Attorney upon signature of this Agreement and agrees that these documents are an integral annex to the Agreement.
2. SUBJECT OF THE CONTRACT (Scope of Legal Aid)
2.1. The subject matter of this agreement is the provision of legal assistance by the Attorney as expressly described in the "Special Provisions of the Agreement" section. Even if it is included in the Power of Attorney, any legal work (new lawsuit, follow-up, legal remedy application, etc.) that is not expressly stated in this agreement is not covered by this agreement.
3. COMMENCEMENT AND DURATION OF THE CONTRACT
3.1. The parties agree that this contract starts as of the date of signature, is valid until the final conclusion of the work subject to the contract and that the parties will review the conditions at the end of each calendar year and, if necessary, sign a new fee and terms agreement.
4. RIGHTS OF THE CLIENT
4.1. Right to Information: Pursuant to the Attorneyship Law, the client has the right to receive information about the status of the file regularly and promptly upon request. The first consultation meeting within the scope of the attorney relationship established with the signing of this agreement is free of charge, limited to a maximum of 45 (forty-five) minutes.
4.2. Right to Inspect the File: The Principal shall have the right to inspect the file at the office of the Attorney with reasonable notice and to make copies at the cost of photocopying.
5. GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE CONTRACT
5.1. The fee set out in this contract covers only the first instance proceedings of the work defined in Article 2 of the contract. Legal remedies such as appeal, cassation and all other additional legal assistance are subject to separate fees.
5.2. The Principal may not give power of attorney to another attorney for the same work without the written consent of the Attorney. Otherwise, all attorney fees arising from this agreement shall immediately become due and payable.
5.3. The Principal is obliged to deliver all kinds of information, documents and notification documents requested from him/her to the Attorney within 3 (three) days at the latest. The provisions regarding the penal clause to be applied in case of delay of this obligation are regulated in the "Special Provisions" section.
5.4. Verbal instructions of the Principal may be confirmed by the Attorney by e-mail or other written communication channels. If the Client does not object to this confirmation within 2 (two) business days, he/she shall be deemed to have approved the instruction.
5.5. Evidence Agreement and Blockchain Integration: The parties agree that digital communication records between them such as e-mail, SMS, WhatsApp and digital data recorded with a timestamp on the Notary Public Blockchain or Ethereum Public Ledger platform, depending on the choice of the Attorney, will be accepted as evidence. This system is used to provide secure proof between the parties. These records are authenticated and strengthened with a digital timestamp by notaries authorized in Turkey and an access link is provided to both parties with a hash code. These data are supported by an electronic signature within the scope of the Electronic Signature Law No. 5070 and constitute a written evidential contract in accordance with Article 193 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
5.6. The attorney may use the power of delegation (delegating the work to another lawyer) if deemed necessary.
5.7. If the principal is more than one, they are jointly and severally liable for all debts arising from this contract.
5.8. It is the Client's responsibility to preserve all original documents subject to litigation and proceedings.
6. OBLIGATIONS OF THE ATTORNEY
6.1. Confidentiality Obligation: Pursuant to Article 36 of the Attorneyship Law, the attorney is obliged to keep confidential all information he/she learns due to his/her profession.
6.2. Duty of Care: The agent undertakes to carry out the work undertaken with the care, loyalty and attention expected from a prudent agent.
6.3. Accountability: The Attorney shall account in writing upon the request of the Principal for the funds collected and expenses incurred on behalf of the Principal.
6.4. Obligation to Return Documents: At the end of the work, the Attorney is obliged to return all original documents entrusted to him and belonging to the Principal.
6.5. Professional Liability Insurance: The Attorney undertakes to take out a professional liability insurance against possible damages that may arise from his/her professional activities, which includes coverage in the amount agreed by the parties in the 'Special Provisions' section. Unless otherwise agreed, the premium costs of this insurance shall be borne by the Principal and the Principal is obliged to pay this amount to the Attorney within 7 (seven) days following the signing of the agreement.
7. CHARGE
7.1. Fixed Fee (Fixed Fee): The fixed fee specified in the "Special Provisions" section shall be paid to the Attorney in advance at the beginning of the work. This fee shall be increased in January of each year following the date of the contract by the rate of the Domestic Producer Price Index (D-PPI) of the previous year announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute and the advisory fee increase rate of the bar association to which the Attorney is affiliated, whichever is higher.
7.2. Proportional Fee (Success-Based Fee): In cases where the value of the subject matter of the lawsuit can be measured in money, in addition to the fixed fee, a pro rata attorney fee of 20% (twenty percent) of the total value awarded in favor of the attorney shall also be paid to the attorney. Under no circumstances may this rate exceed the legal ceiling of 25% set forth in Article 164 of the Attorneyship Law.
7.3. Counter Attorney Fee: The legal attorney fee imposed on the other party by the court or execution offices is independent from the fee agreed upon in this agreement and belongs entirely to the Attorney.
7.4. Taxes: All fees stated in this contract are net. Statutory deductions such as VAT and withholding tax are borne separately by the Client.
7.5. Delay in Payments: All overdue payments of fees and charges will be subject to a default interest of 3% (three percent) per month from the date of payment.
7.6. Emergency Fee (Advance): Upon signing of this Agreement, the Principal shall pay to the Attorney an emergency fee in the amount specified in the "Special Provisions" section as an advance for urgent work and expenses. This fee shall be used for the urgent expenses and overtime to be spent by the Attorney and shall be deducted in the final calculation to be made at the end of the contract.
7.7. Priority of Fees and Expenses: From any money, cash, check, promissory note or other value collected on behalf of the Client, all outstanding fee and expense receivables of the Attorney shall be deducted first. After the offsetting process is completed, the remaining amount shall be returned to the Client. This provision shall be applied independently of and in priority to the right of imprisonment.
8. EXPENSES
8.1. All fees, advance on expenses, notification, expert witness, discovery, travel, accommodation, blockchain and notary expenses and all other reasonable and documentable professional expenses (for example, private courier, digital tool subscriptions, special software licenses, etc.) to be incurred by the Attorney as a requirement of the work and to be notified to the Client in advance belong to the Client.
8.2. When the Attorney needs to go out of the city for business, the necessary and standard expenses to be incurred shall be covered by the Client. The standard room rate of a 4-star hotel in the city where the trip is to be made, the business class or upper class economy ticket fares of Turkish Airlines or an airline company of similar standards in other countries, and the rental cost of a middle class automatic transmission vehicle in the destination city are taken as the criterion for these expenses. Travel preference is made in a reasonable and documentable manner, taking into account the urgency and nature of the work.
8.3. The amounts specified in the "Special Provisions" section shall be applied for stationery expenses and these amounts shall be increased by the D-PPI at the beginning of each year.
9. TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACT, TERMINATION AND RIGHT OF IMPRISONMENT
9.1. In the event that the Client wrongfully discharges the Attorney, the Attorney resigns for just cause, the Client fails to pay the attorney fee or advance on costs, the Client waives or settles the case, the Attorney shall be entitled to the full amount of the fixed and proportional attorney fee agreed in this agreement.
9.2. Right of Lien: The Attorney may exercise the right of imprisonment over the lawsuit files belonging to the Client and the money and other values collected on behalf of the Client until all outstanding attorney fee and expense receivables are fully paid. The attorney may make a notification before exercising this right or may exercise this right without making a notification.
9.3. Withdrawal Fee: In the event that the Principal wishes to terminate the agreement without any fault or negligence of the Attorney, the lump sum fees paid to the Attorney up to that point shall not be refunded. In addition, the withdrawal fee at the rate of 50% (fifty percent) of the proportional fee stipulated in this agreement and whose value is specified in the "Special Provisions" section becomes immediately due and payable by the Principal on the date the termination notice reaches the Attorney.
10. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
10.1. Any disputes between the parties shall first be tried to be resolved through mediation in accordance with the Mediation Rules of the International Arbitration Mediation Conciliation Alternative Dispute Resolution and Consultancy Center (UTAUM). If mediation fails, the dispute shall be finally resolved by arbitration in accordance with the UTAUM Arbitration Rules.
10.2. Mediation: All disputes of the parties arising out of or related to this agreement shall be finally resolved through mediation in accordance with the Mediation Rules of the International Arbitration Mediation Conciliation Alternative Dispute Resolution and Consultancy Center (UTAUM). The parties acknowledge that the mediation clause in this agreement was created by mutual negotiation, without any coercion, and that it is the product of their true will to resolve the disputes primarily through mediation. The place of mediation is Fethiye. The language of mediation is Turkish. The number of mediators will be 1. (Turkish) Law shall apply to the merits of the dispute.
10.3. Arbitration: All disputes of the parties arising out of or relating to this agreement shall be finally resolved by Arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the International Arbitration Mediation Conciliation Alternative Dispute Resolution and Consultancy Center (UTAUM). The parties acknowledge that the arbitration clause in this agreement was created by mutual negotiation, without any coercion, and that the resolution of disputes by arbitration is the product of their true will. The place of arbitration is Fethiye. The language of arbitration is Turkish. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the number of arbitrators shall be 1 for disputes with a value not exceeding 1.500.000,00 TL and 3 for disputes with a value exceeding 1.500.000,00 TL. (Turkish) Law shall apply to the merits of the dispute.
11. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
11.1. Notification Addresses: The notification addresses of the parties are the addresses specified in Article 1 of the contract. Address changes must be notified in writing within 3 days.
11.2. Disciplinary Liability: Disciplinary liability arising from the professional activities of the attorney shall be based on the current disciplinary regulations and professional rules published by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations in the light of the relevant decisions of the Constitutional Court.
11.3. Electronic Signature: The parties agree that secure electronic signatures signed in accordance with the Electronic Signature Law No. 5070 and the relevant legislation shall have legal consequences equivalent to wet signatures.
11.4. Severability: The invalidity of any provision of this agreement shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of the agreement.
11.5. Intellectual Property: The intellectual property rights of all written and oral intellectual outputs (petition, defense, legal report, opinion, etc.) produced by the Attorney under this power of attorney belong to the Attorney. The client has the right to use these documents only for the relevant case and business. They may not be reproduced, shared with third parties or used for commercial purposes without authorization. In case of violation of this prohibition, the Client irrevocably agrees and undertakes to pay a penal clause amounting to 200.000 TL (Two Hundred Thousand Turkish Liras) to the Attorney without the need for any notice.
11.6. File Retention Obligation and Fee: After the end of the work subject to the contract, the Attorney is obliged to keep the file for a certain period of time in accordance with legal obligations. During this storage period, the Attorney is entitled to collect an annual file storage and archiving fee of 5,000 TL. This fee shall be paid in advance at the beginning of each year. In the event of non-payment of the fee, the Attorney's obligation to keep the file disappears.
12. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
12.1. In the event of a conflict between the general provisions of this contract and the special provisions of this section, the special provisions shall prevail.
12.2. Ex officio Action Authorization: The Attorney is authorized to take ex officio action without any cost limit in cases requiring urgent legal steps (filing a reply petition that is about to expire, interim decision objections, making preparations in order not to miss the legal remedy deadlines, etc.) during the litigation process. The Attorney shall report this action and its cost to the Client within 5 business days. If the Client does not object in writing within 2 business days from the date of the report, he/she is deemed to have approved the transaction and its cost.
12.3. The advisory fee tariff of the bar association to which the lawyer is affiliated shall be applied as supplementary in cases where there is no provision in this agreement.
12.4. Collection of the Proportionate Fee: All sums to be collected at the end of the lawsuit or proceeding shall first be deposited into the bank account of the Attorney in accordance with the fee priority provision in Article 7.7, and the Attorney shall send the remaining amount to the IBAN number to be notified by the Client within 3 (three) business days after deducting his own fee and expense receivables from this amount.
12.5. Penalty Clause (Delay in Document Delivery): The amount of the penalty referred to in Article 5.3 shall be equal to one hour's consultation fee as set out in the advisory fee schedule of the bar association to which the Attorney is affiliated and in any event shall not be less than TL 10,000.
12.6. Professional Liability Insurance: TL shall be paid in advance as the premium for the Professional Liability Insurance, which is obligatory pursuant to Article 6.5, and this premium shall be paid to the Attorney within 7 (seven) business days following the date of signing the contract. This premium corresponds to the TL coverage limit.
12.7. Emergency Fee: Pursuant to Clause 7.6, the Client shall pay a contingency fee of TL 10,000 upon signature of the contract.
12.8. Publicity Permission: The Client authorizes the use of the case result as a "success story" - without disclosing the name and confidential details - within the scope of the Attorney's professional promotional activities (Attorney's website, social media profiles, brochures, etc.), provided that prior approval is obtained together with a general summary of the case subject.
12.9. Fixed Fee: The Fixed Attorney Fee for the case that is the subject of this agreement is TL. VAT is not included in this amount.
12.10. Legal Service: The legal service to be provided by the Attorney shall be.
IMPORTANT NOTES AND CONFIRMATION STATEMENTS
A. INFORMATION AND APPROVAL
I hereby declare that I have read, understood and received a copy of this contract in its entirety. In particular, I acknowledge that the subject matter and scope of the contract (Article 2), the fee and payment terms (Article 7), the financial consequences of wrongful dismissal and termination of the contract (Article 9) and the penal clauses (Articles 5.3, 9.3 and 11.5) have been explained to me verbally by my lawyer and that I understand these provisions.
B. PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE APPROVAL
Pursuant to Articles 6.5 and 12.6 of the Agreement, I hereby declare that I understand and accept that professional liability insurance is mandatory for the Attorney and that the premium will be paid by me.
This agreement consists of twelve main articles and ten pages and has been drawn up in duplicate by the parties and entered into force by signing on the date specified below.
[1] This contract text is a general framework regulating the legal relationship between the parties. Additional provisions or amendments may be required according to the specifics of each concrete case. This text is not a substitute for legal advice.