BRIDGING BARRIERS: CONVERSATIONS ACROSS LEGAL CULTURES  

An Oral History Series by Emails to a Young Lawyer
Curated & Presented by Can Yildirim
Interview No. 5

GUEST BIO

 

Learn more about the Bridging Barriers series, read my reflections on the previous interviews, and watch their recordings HERE.

 

Introducing Zeynep Ulku Kahveci

Zeynep studied law at Galatasaray University in Istanbul, completed her LL.M. at Harvard Law School as a Fulbright Scholar, fulfilled the Istanbul Bar requirements through practice, and then transitioned into academia, where she recently defended her Ph.D. at Istanbul University and currently continues her teaching career at Boğaziçi University as an assistant professor. Her path sits at the intersection of civil-law training, common-law graduate study, and a return home to teach the next generation.

 

What Shifted: From “Knowing the Code” to “Thinking About Why”

 

The hardest part of Zeynep’s transition to U.S. legal education was not vocabulary; it was method. She transitioned directly from an undergraduate program in civil law, focusing on codes, doctrine, and court opinions. In contrast, in the U.S., she encountered a classroom organized around theory: cases read and debated through jurisprudential frames, and students expected to connect rulings to ideas. Zeynep had to quickly establish the theoretical foundation that American students often begin forming as undergraduates through philosophy or other liberal arts courses. The result was not just new knowledge but was, instead, a different habit of mind.

This resonates with prior guests who described similar experiences: learning to carry two toolkits and knowing when to deploy each one.

 

Teacher Between Traditions

 

Zeynep now holds two professor identities. In Türkiye, she covers codes and courts while encouraging students to engage in argument and critique. In U.S.-style teaching of copyright, which she has developed since 2018, she simulates the pre-class reading, Socratic questioning, and discussion-driven learning that she found unique during her time in the U.S. Her experience underscores a theme that runs throughout this series: the role of the lawyer—and teacher—shifts as one crosses systems, from doctrinal expert to collaborative advisor. Earlier guests linked that same shift to becoming a true “business partner” or integrator, not just a black-letter specialist.

 

Civil Law, Common Law, and Classroom Culture

 

Zeynep’s comparison of lecture-centric civil-law classrooms and discussion-centric common-law classrooms extends beyond pedagogy; it aligns with legal tradition. Where codes dominate, lectures make coverage possible. Where precedent and judicial reasoning matter, Socratic dialogue trains the instinct to argue narrative from cases. That design also flattens hierarchy: students are invited to take positions, test them, and change their minds in public, skills essential for cross-border practice. The instructor becomes a facilitator of such collaborative learning rather than a Promethean expert dominating the discourse.

 

How Critical Thinking Travels Back Home

 

Zeynep emphasized one synergized method of approach in her discussion of critical thinking: when she finds a Turkish rule, she traces its genealogy from when it was codified to which foreign model it borrowed from, and how it has evolved domestically since. This historical-comparative reflex not only clarifies doctrine but also models a transferable method for students: research the why behind the what.

 

AI: The Global Problem Set for Legal Education

 

Zeynep studies the intersection of law and AI and is candid about the gap between writing about AI and using it effectively as a teacher. Her diagnosis is pragmatic: outright bans do not work; only sensible policies for guided use preserve the very critical thinking legal education is supposed to cultivate against the impulse for convenience can succeed. The takeaway for students is that as research and drafting accelerate through increased utilization of AI, judgment will become the differentiator.

 

“Be Brave”: Asking Before You Feel “Ready”

 

Her most memorable advice is deceptively simple: Ask. As a graduate student, she was invited to join a U.S. copyright teaching project before taking the course. This invitation evolved into an opportunity to learn, digest, and teach simultaneously. The worst case was a “no,” but the upside changed her career.

This complements practical pieces of advice from earlier voices—master clarity in English, diversify early, and learn from others’ experiences—while adding a moral: doors open when you knock.

 

A Through-Line Across the Series

 

Zeynep’s story rhymes with the series’ core lessons:

• Think in frameworks, not rules. It is about how you future-proof yourself in fast-changing areas and how you communicate across systems. (See also Aysın’s “two toolkits”.)
• Translate your role, not simply your language. Cross-system lawyers become integrators, linking legal accuracy to institutional reality. (Echoes of Sezgi’s shift to “business partner”.)
• Clarity beats ornamentation. Say what you mean, directly. Simplicity signals confidence and utility. (A theme Bukem surfaced vividly.)

 

What I’m Taking With Me

 

If an archaeologist were to uncover our conversation 2,000 years from now, Zeynep hopes they’d see that law was a living organism in 2025, constantly evolving and demanding that lawyers evolve too. For young lawyers today, her distilled challenge is this: choose hard growth. She invites those taking the earliest steps of their journey to study in new jurisdictions, wear the cloaks of new roles, and keep their theory muscles strong. Discomfort is not a detour; it is the path.