Twenty Years of Cavus & Coskunsu
We are proud and delighted to have marked the twentieth anniversary of our firm alongside the people who have shaped it.
Colleagues, clients, friends and members of the maritime community joined us in Istanbul to look back on two decades of work — and forward to what comes next. To everyone who was there, and to those who could not attend but sent their kind wishes: thank you. The evening belonged to all of you.
From 2006 to today
Cavus & Coskunsu was founded in 2006 on a straightforward idea: that legal advice to the shipping industry is better when it comes from people who understand how ships actually operate.
Twenty years later, that idea still defines us. Many of our lawyers are mariners who spent years at sea before they qualified — and that background shows in the advice we give. When a casualty happens at three in the morning, the questions that matter are practical ones, and they are answered faster by someone who has stood on a bridge.
What began as a small maritime practice now advises shipowners, charterers, P&I clubs, hull underwriters, cargo interests, shipbuilders and banks across ten practice areas – from shipping and marine insurance to dispute resolution, marine labour, energy and tax. We act as correspondents in Türkiye for international clubs and insurers, contribute country chapters to leading international legal guides, and teach the next generation of shipbrokers and maritime lawyers.
The part that does not appear on a balance sheet
A law firm is not really its case list. It is the people who show up, argue, draft, travel to the quayside at short notice and stay late when a matter turns.
Over twenty years our team has grown from a handful of lawyers to the partners, associates, interns and administrative colleagues who make the practice work today. Some have been with us for the better part of two decades. Others joined this year. What they share is the same instinct: take the client’s problem seriously, and answer it plainly.
We are equally conscious of what our clients have given us. Long-standing relationships with P&I clubs, insurers, owners and operators have taught us more about this industry than any textbook could. Being trusted with difficult matters over many years is the strongest endorsement a firm can receive, and we do not take it lightly.
Looking ahead
Türkiye’s maritime sector is changing quickly – in tonnage, in regulation, in the environmental and technological pressures reshaping the way ships are built, crewed and operated. The legal questions that follow are more complex than they were in 2006, and they will be more complex still in 2036.
We intend to meet them the same way we have met the last twenty years’ worth: with people who know the industry from the inside, and advice that makes commercial sense.
To many more years – with the same spirit of friendship, solidarity and shared purpose that brought us here.
If you would like to discuss how we can assist your business, please get in touch. If you are considering a career in maritime law, we would be glad to hear from you — see our careers page.