I would like to talk about a university that offers fantastic opportunities. The pace of world trade is always faster than anything else trying to catch up with it. I don’t want to talk about how global things are getting. But, “I don’t understand English” is not welcome anymore, and a person who doesn’t speak English will have a limited professional career.Turkey used to lack English speakers. However, in the last two decades the Turkish education system has gone through a difficult transformation that was successful in the end thanks to private entrepreneurs who invested not only their time and money but their hopes as well. This transformation created a wide pool of educated people in Turkey and a generation who speaks English. However, for some reason, it did not translate into having law students who are able to speak English. Turkey still needs qualified lawyers who are able to provide their services in English. Anyone who has tried to invest in Turkey and expats are quite familiar with the difficulty of finding an English-speaking lawyer in Turkey.
I wish I had the opportunity of studying at a university that had an English-language program. This was something one could only dream about in those days. To be frank, one of our professors teaching commercial law himself lacked English-language skills. He once wrote on the board “coast insurance freight” when explaining the internationally used commercial term, CIF. I am not going to tell you at which university this “professor” is now teaching.
I was recently invited for a reading class at Fatih University school of law, and I was very surprised, in positive way. Only first-class students were invited to this reading class, and they were literally first class. These guys were really well prepared, spoke very good English and were very informed and far-sighted. They also asked really tough questions. Saying these students are chosen from amongst the best would be an understatement. It is not that the school chooses the students, but that these bright, young people are choosing to study law at Fatih University.
I was curious and spoke with several of the students. The professors and the academic staff are very friendly. They are very dedicated and they are all success-oriented. The university knows how to handle and use its talented student population and has a great campus. The university’s population includes people from around the world. The facilities are exceptional, and not only meet national standards, but exceed international standards as well, I would say.
Finally, English is of the utmost importance for a lawyer in this changing world, and I would highly recommend Fatih University school of law not only for its English-language teaching program, but also for its engaging curriculum and the chance to be classmates with the future leaders and professionals of Turkey in the coming years.
NOTE: Berk Çektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send enquiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com The names of the readers are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this column.
