Mesut İlme, Attorney at Law
Mesut İlme founded İlme Law Office and is a registered mediator (Yalova Bar reg. no. 287). He works in family law, company law, and criminal and sentence-execution law, drawing on more than 20 years in engineering, business and law.
Legal matters rarely come down to the statute book alone. A good outcome usually calls for a broad perspective that can take in the commercial, technical and strategic layers of an issue. İlme Law Office builds its services around that kind of experience from its founder: more than 20 years of professional life, the last 8 of them as an attorney.
The career of the office's founder, Mesut İlme, attorney at law, began with studies in Computer Education and Instructional Technology at Middle East Technical University (METU) and in Computer Science at TU Dortmund University. It continued with engineering and management roles at global technology companies such as Nortel. In those years he learned internationally recognized methods of analytical problem solving and of process design, improvement and management (Lean Six Sigma). These methods form the basis of the office's legal strategies. He founded his own company and saw international trade from the inside. The large-scale projects he managed showed him how the technology, real estate and construction sectors work. As a result, he can also look at disputes in these fields from a business point of view.
This means Mr. İlme looks at a legal dispute through more than the lens of "the statutes." Like an engineer, he identifies the root cause of the problem. Like a project manager, he manages the critical processes and risks. And like an entrepreneur, he looks for the most practical and commercially sensible solution. He brings this broad perspective to his work for everyone who consults him and every client he represents.
Choosing İlme Law Office therefore means more than hiring a law firm. It means working with a strategic partner who analyzes and understands every technical, commercial and legal layer of a case or a business. That partner looks for potential problems before they arise and works to reach the right result for the client by the most efficient route.
How We Work
Legal Advice
Legal opinions and guidance on your legal issues.
Litigation and Representation
Representation before the courts with full authority, and the legal work that goes with it.
Mediation
Mediation services by a registered mediator for resolving disputes out of court.
We first assess your situation at an in-person or online meeting. Then, if needed, we take on a power of attorney and pursue your case through to its conclusion.
Family Law
Disputes over divorce, maintenance, custody and the matrimonial property regime shape the arrangements on which a family's life will be rebuilt. The office handles these cases based on its practice before the Yalova Family Court, with a written roadmap at every stage.
A divorce case can follow either of two statutory routes. The marriage may have lasted at least one year, with the spouses agreeing on the financial consequences of the divorce and on arrangements for the children. In that case, an uncontested divorce can be concluded at a single hearing once the judge has heard the parties and approved their protocol (Turkish Civil Code (TMK) Art. 166/3). Without an agreement, the case rests on proving that the marital union has been fundamentally shaken and proving fault (TMK Art. 166/1). The degree of fault decides the fate of claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages (TMK Art. 174) and for post-divorce alimony (TMK Art. 175). In a contested divorce, the outcome is often decided not by the petition but by whether the evidence was gathered lawfully. Linked pages are in Turkish.
When there are children, custody and child support are decided on the basis of the child's best interests, not the parents' (TMK Art. 182, Art. 336). The arrangements for personal contact are also the starting point for any later change of custody case. The financial settlement is a separate calculation. Since 1 January 2002, the statutory default regime has been participation in acquired property. Under it, each spouse has a participation claim to half of the other spouse's net surplus value (TMK Art. 236). If one spouse contributed to property belonging to the other, that contribution is claimed as a value-increase share (TMK Art. 227). While the case is pending, the family residence annotation (TMK Art. 194) and interim maintenance protect the family.
A difficulty we often see in practice arises after the divorce decision becomes final. Maintenance goes unpaid, personal contact is obstructed, or assets remain undivided. The tools at this stage include enforcement proceedings for maintenance arrears, a request for coercive imprisonment under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK) Art. 344, and applications for protective and preventive measures under Law No. 6284. You can use the office's maintenance and property division calculators before a meeting to get a rough idea of the legal framework for maintenance amounts and property division. The exact calculation always depends on the facts of each case.
Applicable legislation
- Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (TMK): divorce (Art. 161–184), custody, matrimonial property regimes (Art. 202–241)
- Law No. 6284 on the Protection of the Family and Prevention of Violence against Women: protective and preventive measures
- Law No. 4787 on the Establishment, Duties and Procedures of Family Courts
Our Services in This Area
- Drafting the uncontested divorce protocol and handling the case
- Contested divorce: fault, pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, evidence strategy
- Post-divorce alimony and child support; actions to increase or adjust maintenance
- Custody, personal contact arrangements and change of custody
- Liquidation of the matrimonial property regime: participation claim and value-increase share
- Requests for a family residence annotation and interim maintenance
- Applications for protective and preventive measures under Law No. 6284
- Enforcement proceedings for maintenance arrears and applications for coercive imprisonment
Company Law
A company's legal life begins with its incorporation filing. It is tested at the first disagreement between the shareholders. The office's founder has sat on both sides of that table: as an engineer who founded and ran his own company, and as a lawyer who drafts contracts for such companies.
The type of company chosen at incorporation also decides how the partnership will be unwound years later. A limited company can be formed with a single shareholder, and its minimum capital is TRY 50,000 (Turkish Commercial Code (TTK) Art. 573 et seq.). For a joint stock company, the minimum capital is TRY 250,000. Share transfers and the management structure can be designed more flexibly. The articles of association may leave out exit, pre-emption or voting arrangements at incorporation. Such arrangements can later be changed only by a qualified majority, so the first text is the partnership's real constitution.
The law provides specific remedies for disputes between shareholders. These include annulment of general assembly resolutions (TTK Art. 445–446), transfer of capital shares (TTK Art. 595), withdrawal and expulsion of shareholders (TTK Art. 638–640), and dissolution for just cause (TTK Art. 636/3). Mergers, demergers and changes of legal form (TTK Art. 134 et seq.) are the procedures for a growing company. Liquidation is the procedure for a company that is closing. For a company unable to pay its debts, the concordat provisions of İİK Art. 285 et seq. are the last door before bankruptcy.
A company's day-to-day legal life plays out in its contracts. Dealership, distribution, franchise and supply agreements are governed by the general provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK) together with the TTK's rules for merchants. Unfair competition (TTK Art. 54 et seq.) and disputes over checks and promissory notes are a natural extension of these relationships. Here, the founder's engineering and project-management background becomes a concrete habit: a draft contract is read like a process map. At which step does each party do what? What does a delay cost? If the relationship breaks down, through which door do the parties exit? Most of the disputes we see in practice arise where a contract leaves these three questions unanswered.
Applicable legislation
- Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (TTK): companies (Art. 124 et seq.), mergers and demergers, unfair competition, negotiable instruments
- Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 (TBK): formation, performance and termination of contracts
- Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004 (İİK): collection of commercial receivables, concordat (Art. 285 et seq.), bankruptcy
Our Services in This Area
- Incorporation of limited and joint stock companies, articles of association and registration
- Shareholders' agreements, share transfers and capital increases
- Actions to annul general assembly and board of directors resolutions
- Withdrawal and expulsion of shareholders, and dissolution for just cause
- Mergers, demergers, changes of legal form and liquidation
- Dealership, distribution, franchise and supply agreements
- Unfair competition, check and promissory note disputes, and collection of commercial receivables
- Concordat and restructuring applications
Criminal Law and Execution of Sentences
Mr. İlme, registered with the Yalova Bar Association under no. 287, maintains a meticulous, results-oriented practice in criminal law and the law on the execution of sentences.
Execution law begins once a sentence becomes final. It is a sensitive branch of law that directly affects the convicted person's liberty. Three things can make a difference of months, or even years, in that person's life: calculating the sentence calculation notice (müddetname) correctly, setting the conditional release date accurately, and reflecting supervised release periods in full.
Mr. İlme gives clients careful legal support based on Law No. 5275 on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures (CGTİHK), the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 (TCK) and current case law of the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay). The office prepares reasoned analysis reports. They help find possible errors in the müddetname and set out concrete grounds for an objection.
Sentence calculation demands mathematical and chronological accuracy. The analytical discipline from his engineering and project-management background is a clear asset here. This field calls for legal argument and numerical precision at the same time, and it is one of the office's main areas of focus.
Applicable legislation
- Law No. 5275 (CGTİHK) on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures
- Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 (TCK): recidivism, types of offenses
- 11th Judicial Package: current draft reform of execution law
Our Services in This Area
- Objections to the müddetname and error analysis
- Sentence execution calculations and reasoned analysis reports
- Applications for conditional release and follow-up
- Advice on the supervised release process
- Requests to postpone execution of a sentence
- Suspended sentences and deferral of the announcement of the verdict (HAGB)
- Preparing objection petitions to the Execution Judgeship (İnfaz Hâkimliği)
- Applications to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office
Professional Background
Education
- Middle East Technical University (METU): Computer Education and Instructional Technology
- TU Dortmund University: Computer Science
- Bahçeşehir University: Faculty of Law
- Bahçeşehir University: Master's in Commercial Law (completing the thesis)
Experience
- Mediator, Ministry of Justice Registry of Mediators No. 22086 (registered specialization areas: employment law, commercial law, consumer law)
- Nortel Networks: engineering and management roles
- Founder of an international trading company
- Lean Six Sigma certification
Languages
Turkish, English, German
Official Registration and Verification
- Yalova Bar Association Reg. No.: 287
- Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) Reg. No.: 154475
- Registered Electronic Mail (KEP) Address: mesut.ilme@hs02.kep.tr
- National Electronic Notification System (UETS): 15354-53863-94280
You can check the bar registration yourself through the TBB Lawyer Search (official roll).
Why Work With Us
A Multidisciplinary Approach
With backgrounds in engineering, business and law, we look at complex problems from several angles.
Follow-Through to the End
We do more than give advice. We take on a power of attorney and pursue your case until a final judgment.
Online Access
Wherever you are, you can get professional legal support through a video meeting.
Three Languages
We serve international clients in Turkish, English and German.
Written Fee Agreement
The fee is set in a written agreement under the Attorneyship Law (Avukatlık Kanunu) Art. 163 before the work is accepted. Payments are made through a secure payment system.
Client Feedback
Clients have given the office a 4.9 rating on Google, with dozens of positive reviews. See all Google reviews
Get Support With Your Legal Matter
Let us assess your situation at an in-person or online meeting. If needed, we take on a power of attorney and pursue your case through to its conclusion.
Let's Work Together
For fellow attorneys: we would like to meet colleagues interested in working with us under the Attorneyship Law Art. 44/A. The terms are in writing from the start. Fee-sharing ratios are agreed in advance, a statement of earnings is shared openly every month, and the payment schedule is set out in the contract.
Consultations are held in Yalova or by video call, in Turkish or English. Write to us with a short description of the matter and we will propose a time.
Phone: 0 (226) 911 07 99 · Office hours Mon–Fri, 09:00–18:00 (Türkiye time).
This page is an English edition of the Turkish original, prepared and reviewed at Ilme Law Office; where the two differ, the Turkish text prevails. It is general information under the advertising rules of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations and does not replace advice on your specific case. Read the Turkish original.