Personal bio
Okan Demirkan leads the Kolcuoğlu Demirkan Koçaklı’s Dispute Resolution, Energy and Infrastructure as well as Ethics and Compliance practices.
Okan represents domestic and international clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including commercial disputes, employment related disputes, intellectual property related disputes, administrative disputes, enforcement and set-aside lawsuits, and criminal proceedings in relation to white-collar crimes at all levels of Turkish courts.
With significant experience of over 20 years in international arbitration, he has been extensively involved in numerous ICC, DIS, SAC, LCIA, DIAC, LME, ITOTAM, ISTAC and UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings where he serves as counsel, arbitrator or expert witness. He regularly acts as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator or co-arbitrator in institutional as well as ad hoc arbitrations. Okan has been heavily involved in arbitration proceedings concerning major infrastructure projects and has successfully represented several international clients as well as local entities in arbitration proceedings concerning disputes arising from build-operate-transfer (BOT) model investments, sales agreements, share purchase agreements, shareholders agreements, EPC contracts and licensing contracts. In 2017, he was an expert witness in an LCIA arbitration concerning a USD 49 billion claim arising from a major international energy project.
He and his dispute resolution team have represented several international clients in the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, with a 100% success rate since Okan joined Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli as a name partner.
Okan is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and the Swiss Arbitration Ambassador to Turkey. Who’s Who Legal and GAR recognize Okan Demirkan as one of the world’s leading arbitration practitioners since 2019, and since 2023, Who’s Who Legal also lists him in the field of Commercial Litigation. The Legal 500 ranks him as a “Leading Partner” in its Dispute Resolution category, among several other categories. He has also individually been ranked in “Band 1” in Litigation listing as well as “Band 2” in Arbitration listing by Chambers and Partners.
Okan completed his education in Israel, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, respectively. He holds a law degree from the University of Sussex (2000). He started his legal career in 2000 and was admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association in 2003.