On the morning of a search, a prepared company makes the difference.
Protecting rights at the moment of a search, seizure or on-site inspection at the company: authority verification, accompaniment, discipline over the official record and post-event strategy.
What happens that morning?
On the day of a search, three things happen at the company at once: law enforcement at the door, employees in panic, systems being accessed. In an unprepared company this picture turns into seizures that exceed their scope, the loss of documents that should be protected, and unfortunate statements. In a prepared company, by contrast, the protocol runs.
On-site response
Our team sets out the moment it is called; the conduct guide to follow until it arrives is already defined. On site: the court order and authorisation documents are examined, the scope limits of the search are monitored, privileged material such as attorney-client correspondence is separated out and an objection is recorded, an exact inventory and a forensic image of the seized items are requested, and the record is checked line by line.
The employee dimension
Staff have different rights and obligations: they provide identifying information but cannot be compelled to give a statement. Where a statement is requested on site, the need for individual representation is assessed; the company guide teaches this distinction in advance.
Afterward: objection and strategy
The objection to the seizure orders, the review regime over the image copies and the investigation strategy are established with the defence team. The incident is reported as a live test of the crisis protocol, and the guide is updated.
The legal frame
Searches at company premises run under the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK, No 5271): as a rule a judge's order is required, with a prosecutor's written order reserved for urgency. Digital material has its own regime — Article 134 CMK governs searches of computers and data media; imaging and the return of devices follow their own sequence, which shapes how quickly operations resume. Correspondence with defence counsel is protected under the Attorneyship Law (No 1136), and searches of a lawyer's office follow a separate, stricter procedure. Not every visit is criminal: the Competition Authority conducts its own on-site inspections under Law No 4054, with different powers and different risks — the conduct protocol distinguishes the two at the door.
Preparedness, and what you receive
The companies that weather a search well prepared it in advance: reception knows who to call first, IT knows what to freeze without deleting anything, and the conduct guide sits printed at the front desk rather than in a forgotten shared drive.
Deliverables: a company-specific dawn-raid protocol in two languages, role cards for reception, IT and management, a privileged-material map, and an annual drill. The digital layer is built with our eDiscovery practice; where the search signals a deeper case, internal investigation support follows.
We are by your side for Search & Seizure Response
Our call line does not keep office hours, and the team that attends is made up of lawyers who already know the defence strategy. Where there is a German parent, head office is briefed at the same time and in both languages, while the search is still going on — it is the protocol that speaks, not panic. The aim is to keep the search inside its scope, to protect privileged material and to build a defensible file from the first day.
Other Applications of This Service
White-Collar Crime & Corporate Defence — our other specialised solutions in this area.
Matter Connections
The focus areas, practice areas, desks and legislation connected with this sub-service.
The Team Delivering This Service
With our multilingual team of lawyers, well-versed in Turkish and German law, we are by your side.
Related Publications
Fresh perspectives and guides from the Knowledge Centre.
Material belonging to the defence relationship is protected; on-site separation and a recorded objection are essential. In mixed environments, a sealing and subsequent filtering procedure is requested.
You cannot stop the search; but you exercise your right to call a lawyer and, until counsel arrives, apply the passive shadowing routine in the guide. Law enforcement usually waits a reasonable time.
Imaging and return requests are pursued together with the business continuity plan; for critical systems, working from a copy is requested. Redundancy is part of pre-search preparation.
Search & Seizure Response — get the right legal support.
Let us identify the right solution together, drawing on our experience in Türkiye and the DACH region.