Meet the Team: Q&A with Merve Özbakır

Why did you join Cleveland & Co?

I was about to complete my LLM studies at Durham University and Cleveland & Co gave me the opportunity to kickstart my career in the UK while studying in a city so different from London. The flexibility Cleveland & Co provided me with allowed me to dive into private equity, which was a new and exciting area for me, and learn a lot whilst working on my dissertation at the same time. I was also very interested in its unique business structure providing high-standard in-house legal services to major players in the financial services sector as an external team.

What are the best bits of working at Cleveland & Co so far?

The best part of working at Cleveland & Co is definitely the great team we have here. There are so many incredibly talented and experienced lawyers from all around the world in the team and I feel really lucky to be able to exchange ideas with them and work alongside each of them.

Tell us about your career path.

I graduated from the Faculty of Law at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey in 2018 and started my career as a legal trainee at the Istanbul office of Clifford Chance in September 2018. After my one-year legal traineeship, I became a Banking & Finance Associate at the firm and stayed there until June 2021, when I left the firm to move to the UK to pursue my LLM degree at Durham University. In July 2022, I joined Cleveland & Co and have had the chance to gain experience in private equity, pooled pension funds and AIFs as well as improve my experience in corporate law and M&A transactions.

What do you love most about your job?

I love the fact that I am able to work in so many different areas of law. Half of the time I am assisting the team with the private equity practice of the firm whereas for the rest of it I am working on a wide range of areas such as corporate law, M&A transactions, buybacks, offsets etc. within both the London and the Sydney teams. I also really appreciate the exposure I get and the opportunity to be in direct contact with clients.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Change is constant so try to step back and see the bigger picture every once in a while.

If you didn’t go into law, what other role might you have done?

I would have loved to study history of art! My dream (other than law) was to be a gallery curator.

Favourite spot in London and why?

I really enjoy spending time in Primrose Hill on a sunny day, but I also love the hustle and bustle of Borough Market. I also love Tate Britain – ideal for a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Tell us a surprising or a fun fact about you.

I’m a huge fan of 90s/early 2000s Turkish music. So many great tunes!