By Cemil Ozyurt - The Turkish-American lawyers have practiced in 21 different states, from Florida to California, New York to Texas. New York is a home for Turkish-American lawyers. According to research, 82 Turkish-American lawyers have practiced in New York State, 38 lawyers are located in California, and 25 lawyers have practiced in Washington, DC. According to TurkofAmerica’s research on Turkish-American lawyers in the U.S., the most experienced lawyer is
Elizer Kapuya, who has practiced since 1975 in Los Angeles. After Kapuya, the second-most experienced lawyer is
Aydın S. Çağınalp, who has practiced in New York since 1976. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America.
Melih Doğan also has practiced since 1979 in New York. New York is a home for Turkish-American lawyers.
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems and OHB System AG (OHB) announce the completion of the initial Dream Chaser® for European Utilization (DC4EU) study co-funded by the Space Administration of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and OHB. OHB and DLR are both based in Germany. As announced by the companies in late 2013, SNC and OHB entered into an agreement to study the feasibility of using SNC’s Dream Chaser spacecraft for a variety of missions. The DC4EU study thoroughly reviewed applications for the Dream Chaser including crewed and uncrewed flights to low-Earth orbit (LEO) for missions such as microgravity science, satellite servicing and active debris removal (ADR). 
Jazz at Lincoln Center plans to renovate the public spaces in Frederick P. Rose Hall, its home in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. The project will commence in July, with an estimated cost of $18.5 million and a scheduled completion of December, according to an announcement to be made on Thursday. The redesign comes a decade after the opening of Rose Hall, known internally as the House of Swing, a roughly $130 million performing arts complex hailed at the time as an unprecedented achievement for any jazz organization. Since then there have been thousands of events in the hall’s three main rooms — the 1,233-seat Rose Theater, the glass-faced Appel Room (formerly the Allen Room), and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola — and the facility has become a prominent feature on the cultural landscape of New York City. 
Yogurt company Chobani is expanding its space nearly threefold and getting the test kitchen of its dreams in a move from one Soho building to another, General Growth Properties’ 200 Lafayette Street. The rest of the building is occupied by J.C. Penney, which is giving up the top two floors to make way for Chobani. For the past three years, the yogurt maker has been in 11,500 square feet at 72 Spring Street, and will expand its square footage to 33,560 with the move to the sixth and seventh floors of the new building, the New York Post reported. 
Seda Aktas was honored as a new member of the Top 40 Under 40. She has successfully handled hundreds of trials so far in her career. Aktas Law, P.A. is one of the largest Turkish-American law firms in Florida. They have served to its clients in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and Orlando. Being a former prosecutor Seda Aktas graduated with honors from UMASS Amherst in Massachusetts. She talked to TURKOFAMERICA. 
When she graduated from the law school in 2001, the economy had taken a hit and then September 11 happened. Petek Günay was looking for a job in corporate law when a great deal of corporate activity had virtually stopped. She responded to a job listing that said, “Get an opportunity to work on cases you read about in newspapers.” A week later, she had her first job in litigation. Günay answered TurkofAmerica’s questions. 
As a young and energetic lawyer, Barbaros Karaahmet first started at Herrick, Feinstein, LLP in 1995 and worked there until 2001. Ten years later, he re-joined the company as a partner. Today Karaahmet, Co-Chair of Herrick, Feinstein, LLP’s Turkish Practice Group answered our questions. 
Could you tell us about your personal background?
Iskender (Alex) Cemaletin, Esq., is one of the few Turkish-American lawyers who was raised in New York. He immigrated with his family from Turkey to New York in 1963. He graduated from Hofstra University, School of Law with a Juris Doctorate Degree in 1987. He has practiced immigration law for over 26 years and has maintained his main office in the same building, located in downtown New York City at 401 Broadway, New York, NY 10013. 
“There is a huge increase in business people who either invested in or established a business in the U.S.,” says Remzi Güvenç Kulen of Kulen Law, New York based law firm. “I think the interest is warranted since we have better companies and brilliant business people who can compete in the U.S.,” he adds. Kulen is a graduate of Marmara Law School in Istanbul and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He is a member of American Immigration Lawyers Association and active in NY Chapter’s Corporate Law and USCIS committees. He writes articles in print and web media and he is a frequent guest on Turkish and U.S. TV stations. He is also invited to various panels, to speak about investment opportunities in the U.S., and visa options for professionals and foreign employees. He is also an active community member. He answered our questions. 
Looking back to the early 1980’s, one would not be able to find many Turkish professionals, including attorneys, accountants or physicians in the United States. J. Cahit Akbulut, an attorney currently operating his own law practice in New York City, had the courage to undertake the challenge to change this reality. 
The bill concerning the over 10 million illegal immigrants in America, waiting to be approved in the Congress, gives hopes to many people. Although the passing of the bill seems to be a challenge in a Republican majority Congress, immigration lawyers are hopeful. Working in New York in immigration law, lawyer Birsen Aksakal says, “The passing of the bill does not seem very likely but how much longer can the issue of illegal immigrants be avoided?”
“The biggest challenge is to understand the business culture in the United States,” says Mehmet Fırat Polat, New York based business lawyer. “Spreading the trade across different sectors should be a target. I hope that in the future we will achieve a balance in the bilateral trade,” he adds. Polat Law Firm has served its clients in their legal matters since 2007. 
