Frequently Asked Questions
There are questions that everyone says "I've always wondered about this" ... Asking is the most effective way to get information!
What is an attorney's fee, how is it determined?
The fee to be paid to an attorney is determined by the contract between the attorney and the client. However, the minimum amount hereof is determined in the "minimum wage tariff for attorneys". Therefore, when you think like "But another attorney told me he/she would take just half of the amount you said for this case.", you should know that attorney is unfortunately acting illegally, maybe avoiding tax by not withholding receipts... When and how (in installments etc.) your attroney receives the fee from you is entirely at her discretion, but when he/she legally submits your power of attorney to a file, in the eye of the tax office he/she is deemed to have received the entire attorney's fee, as well as his/her tax liability arises. The payment given covers all transactions to be made until a final decision is made regarding the business including the subject of the contract. On the other hand, the works to be held with a hearing in the higher judicial authorities and the putting the decision into the enforcement proceedings require additional fees.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the expenses such as court fees (state charges), notification costs, estimated costs of viewing the scene on site, expertise fees, and the transportation etc. expenses of the attorney to follow up the work are not included in the attorney's fee. In the event that your case is rejected (losing the case), if the other party was represented by a lawyer, you may have to pay counter attorney's fee and trial expenses as per law. In cases such as the loss of the case, the withdrawal or the dismissal of attorney makes no refund of the fee paid. The "legal attorney fee" or "mandate fee" belongs to your attorney according to the Law of Attorneys, even if the decision is originally ruled on your name. However, the attorney fee determined by the contract you have made with your lawyer and this mandate fee are completely independent from each other.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the expenses such as court fees (state charges), notification costs, estimated costs of viewing the scene on site, expertise fees, and the transportation etc. expenses of the attorney to follow up the work are not included in the attorney's fee. In the event that your case is rejected (losing the case), if the other party was represented by a lawyer, you may have to pay counter attorney's fee and trial expenses as per law. In cases such as the loss of the case, the withdrawal or the dismissal of attorney makes no refund of the fee paid. The "legal attorney fee" or "mandate fee" belongs to your attorney according to the Law of Attorneys, even if the decision is originally ruled on your name. However, the attorney fee determined by the contract you have made with your lawyer and this mandate fee are completely independent from each other.
Are we going to win this case for sure?
An attorney does not promise to win the case. He/she undertakes to do her best to win the case, to reveal all his/her knowledge, to practise what needs to be done in your favor and to do so, to search and find precedent files and decisions; in short, all kinds of "efforts". Words kind of "We will definitely win", "I have acquaintances, you rest easy" constitutes hope-mongering, an attorney avoids such statements.
As a matter of fact, there are many negative factors that can affect the course of the case and most of these factors are not caused by the attorney. In Turkey, judges can change more than once during a case, each judge may not be able to have a grasp of the whole progress of the file and may do judgements which constitute legal weirdnesses, rationalising that it will be reversed when appealed to the upper court anyway... Experts may also not be able to prepare reports on time, or submit with incomplete examination or, worse still, with bias. Court and enforcement office personnel may treat files incompletely and incorrectly, and close open files by mistake. A witness may appear, whose existence you do not even know, his/her statement may be completely against you. A document may come up, you may have forgotten that you signed it. The law can change. For this reason, an attorney you can trust may even suggest not to open a case at all if these risks are obviously foreseeable in the beginning. If the data at your disposal are appropriate, he/she suggests you to file the case and promises that he/she will do everything he/she can.
As a matter of fact, there are many negative factors that can affect the course of the case and most of these factors are not caused by the attorney. In Turkey, judges can change more than once during a case, each judge may not be able to have a grasp of the whole progress of the file and may do judgements which constitute legal weirdnesses, rationalising that it will be reversed when appealed to the upper court anyway... Experts may also not be able to prepare reports on time, or submit with incomplete examination or, worse still, with bias. Court and enforcement office personnel may treat files incompletely and incorrectly, and close open files by mistake. A witness may appear, whose existence you do not even know, his/her statement may be completely against you. A document may come up, you may have forgotten that you signed it. The law can change. For this reason, an attorney you can trust may even suggest not to open a case at all if these risks are obviously foreseeable in the beginning. If the data at your disposal are appropriate, he/she suggests you to file the case and promises that he/she will do everything he/she can.
Will my case be over immediately? How long will it take?
The answer to this question is obvious: Your case will not be over immediately. Even if your attorney does everything in her power, gets up every morning and checks your file through UYAP system, talks to the judge or talks to the enforcement personnels, there are some deadlines foreseen in the law for some transactions. As these periods can be determined by law, the application, the file load and number of the courts, the additional time requests of the experts giving reports, the judges' postponement of a hearing just stating that they cannot review the file, the post office notification procedures sometimes being completed in a very long time, and if a new evidence is revealed in criminal cases, there can be many reasons and these often are not caused by your attorney. It is also not arbitrary, it cannot be accelerated by talking to the judge or the personnel. Like your work, everyone's work is very urgent and very important. Judicial affairs in our country progress slowly. Even the simplest cases are not concluded before 5-6 months in big cities, it is rarely seen that some cases even take 5-6 years... Most cases end in an average of 8 months to 2 years, it is impossible to predict the exact time. Recent events such as earthquakes and pandemics have slowed the process across the country much more.
Can I file my case outside of where I live? Will it result faster in small settlements?
There are competent courts determined by law in filing cases. In some very exceptional cases such as uncontested divorce, neither of the parties will make an objection to authorization, so that the case can be filed in a small place with less workload in order to ensure that it is concluded faster / the hearing day can be given to a closer date. However, normally the competent court according to the subject of each case; for example, the court of the place of residence of the defendant, the court of the place where the immovable is located, is determined by law. In short, it can be filed, but if there is an objection to the competence (plea of jurisdiction), the file will have to be sent to the competent court.