hande
öztürk

Hande is a Counsel at the firm and leader of our Sports practice with extensive international experience gained across multiple jurisdictions, including Turkey, Qatar, Germany, and Luxembourg. She combines deep legal expertise with a practical, hands-on approach, advising clients on complex matters spanning commercial law, intellectual property, sports, media, and disputes.

With a strong foundation in litigation and mediation, as a chartered mediator, Hande brings a commercially focused perspective to legal advisory work, particularly in matters involving content, sports rights, and media-related transactions. Her practice is distinguished by an ability to navigate the legal and operational dimensions of fast-moving, highly regulated sectors.

Most recently, Hande served as Head of Legal at the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV), where she led the legal and transfers team, overseeing all legal and transfer-related matters concerning volleyball across Europe. In this role, she played a central part in negotiating high-value commercial agreements involving media, data, betting, merchandising, licensing, sponsorship, and ticketing rights, contributing significantly to the organisation’s commercial growth and revenue generation.

Previously, Hande held in-house legal roles at media companies, including beIN Media Group in Turkey, working closely with the content and sports rights team based in Doha, London and Istanbul. Her work focused on content licensing, monetisation, sports rights, and media production operations, providing her with substantial cross-border experience in the media and entertainment sectors.

She began her legal career at Martens Rechtsanwälte, a prominent sports law firm in Munich, before taking on roles at leading law firms in Istanbul and at Doğuş Holding, where she advised on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, and intellectual property matters.

Hande holds an LL.B. from Galatasaray University and an MBA in Sports Management from Bahçeşehir University. She is fluent in Turkish, French, and English and is admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association.

In addition to her legal practice, Hande is an active FIBA basketball referee and serves on the Legal Commission of the Turkish Olympic Committee, the Legal Committee of the Turkish Volleyball Federation, and the Ethics Committee of the French Baseball and Softball Federation.