Dr. Elif Şen

Dr. Elif Şen is Of Counsel to GlobalB Law, based in Beijing. Among the most senior Turkish in-house counsel of her generation, she spent three decades leading the legal functions of some of Türkiye’s largest conglomerates, banks and energy companies before relocating to China, where she now advises on investments, market entry and cross-border transactions between Türkiye, Europe and Asia.

Career

Elif began her legal career in 1990 as an attorney at Şen&Şen Law Office in İstanbul and served as a research assistant in maritime and insurance law at İstanbul University Faculty of Law (1992–1994). She practised in the legal department of Doğuş Holding (1994–1998), working on M&A and joint ventures, energy and BOT projects, tenders and privatisations; advised multinational clients on corporate, commercial and regulatory matters at Arthur Andersen (1998–2000), where she managed a team of twelve associates; and represented international clients such as Rolls-Royce, SITA, Wärtsilä and Glencore at the leading İstanbul firm Hergüner Bilgen Özeke (2000–2001). After in-house roles at Türk Nokta Net (2001–2002) and Sabancı Telekomünikasyon (2002–2004), she joined Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding — one of Türkiye’s largest industrial and financial groups — as Corporate Legal Counsel in 2004 and served as its Chief Legal Counsel from 2011 to 2014, advising group companies on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic investments, corporate governance and major commercial transactions. She was subsequently Chief Legal Counsel of Odeabank (2014–2016), leading a legal team of eighteen, and Chief Legal Officer of SOCAR Türkiye (2016–2018), the Turkish arm of Azerbaijan’s state energy company and one of the largest foreign direct investors in Türkiye, where she oversaw the legal aspects of SOCAR’s investments in Türkiye, including PETKİM and the STAR Refinery.

Beijing Practice

Since 2018, through Skill&Proof Consulting — where she is a founding partner — Elif has advised international investors on cross-border transactions. Following her relocation to Beijing, she has focused extensively on China–Türkiye investment projects. Her practice covers the full life cycle of investments: pre-investment strategy, structuring and negotiation; financing and representation before banks and lenders; and post-investment integration. She advises on infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, technology and sustainability-related investments. Her continuing professional education includes sustainable-finance and infrastructure-investment programmes at Erasmus University Rotterdam, Università Bocconi and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and business-Chinese studies at Peking University.

Recognition & Credentials

Elif was named to the Legal 500 GC Powerlist Turkey in 2017. The Legal 500 described her as “a decorated in-house lawyer”, highly regarded within Türkiye’s corporate legal community, particularly for her expertise in joint ventures, corporate governance and intellectual property. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and holds LL.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Private Law from Marmara University. She is a member of the İstanbul Bar Association.