ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΑΥΤΟΝ
Know thyself
We begin every matter by honestly assessing the limits of the case and of our own expertise. Giving clients a realistic picture is worth more than telling them only what they wish to hear.
Our Firm
About Us
Our Firm
Delfi Law and Consultancy was founded in İzmir in 2017 by Att. Serhat Ertok and Att. Dr. Burak Keçecioğlu. The firm advises and represents Turkish and foreign individuals and companies in private, public and criminal law. Included in the lists of attorneys published in Türkiye by the Embassies of the United States of America and the Kingdom of Sweden, the firm serves international clients in Turkish, English, German and Italian.
We take our name from Delphi, where people in the ancient world came for counsel before difficult decisions. The maxims inscribed at the entrance of its Temple of Apollo still shape how we approach our profession.
How We Work
According to Pausanias, maxims attributed to the Seven Sages were inscribed at the entrance of the temple at Delphi. Three of them form the basis of how we work.
ΜΗΔΕΝ ΑΓΑΝ
Nothing in excess
We value moderation. Not every dispute needs to be litigated; negotiation and mediation often lead to a faster and less costly outcome.
ΕΓΓΥΑ ΠΑΡΑ Δ’ ΑΤΗ
Make a pledge, and ruin is near
This maxim is a reminder that the consequences of every commitment should be weighed in advance. It is why we attach such importance to reviewing contracts before they are signed and to making risks visible from the outset.
Those who came to Delphi sought a word to guide them through uncertainty. Our clients come to us to see their legal position clearly. Our task is to set it out honestly, with measure and with respect for confidentiality, and to make the consequences of their decisions visible in advance.
How We Work
Our approach is preventive: much of our work consists of drafting contracts, reviewing the legal compliance of corporate transactions and advising clients before a dispute arises. When a dispute does arise, we represent our clients in mediation, arbitration and court proceedings.
A significant part of our clientele consists of Turkish and foreign companies. Our main practice areas are corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, commercial and international contracts, maritime trade and transport disputes, public procurement disputes, energy law, competition law, arbitration, employment law and occupational health and safety. Our academic work allows us to bring current scholarly debate in these fields to our cases.
Confidentiality
All client information is protected under the professional secrecy obligation set out in the Turkish Attorneys’ Act.
Independence
A conflict check is carried out before any new matter is accepted.
Communication
Clients are informed of the legal risks at the outset and kept informed of the progress of their matter.
Delphi
Delphi was one of the most revered sanctuaries of the ancient world. For more than a thousand years, cities, lawgivers and ordinary people came here for counsel before difficult decisions.
- 8th century BC
The sanctuary of Apollo develops at Delphi, on the southern slopes of Mount Parnassus. The answers of the Pythia, the priestess of the oracle, draw visitors from across the Greek world.
- 548 BC
The Temple of Apollo is destroyed by fire. A new temple, built under the direction of the Athenian Alcmaeonid family, is completed at the end of the 6th century BC.
- 373 BC
A severe earthquake destroys the temple again.
- 4th century BC
The temple whose remains are visible today is built. Maxims attributed to the Seven Sages are inscribed at its entrance.
- Late 4th century AD
The oracle falls silent after Emperor Theodosius I bans pagan cults.
- 1892
The French School at Athens begins its major excavations, bringing the sanctuary back to light.
- 1987
The archaeological site of Delphi is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The centre of the world
According to myth, Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the earth, and they met at Delphi. The place was therefore marked by the omphalos, the “navel” stone, and regarded as the centre of the ancient world.
The seat of Themis
Ancient tradition held that before Apollo the oracle belonged to Gaia, the Earth, and to her daughter Themis. In the opening lines of Aeschylus’ Eumenides, the Pythia recounts this succession. For the Greeks, Themis personified divine order and what is right; she is one of the ancient sources of the familiar image of Justice holding scales.
An order founded on oath
The sanctuary was administered by the Delphic Amphictyony, a league of Greek communities. Its members swore not to destroy one another’s cities and not to cut off one another’s water, even in war. For this reason, the Amphictyony is often cited as an early example of law between states and of resolving disputes under common rules.
Where lawgivers sought counsel
Ancient sources report that the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus consulted Delphi on his laws, and that in Athens the Pythia chose the heroes after whom the ten tribes created by Cleisthenes’ reforms were named. Delphi thus also had a voice in the founding of legal orders.
Fiat iustitia nec pereat mundus