Ms. Ekim is the Managing Director, Legal & Head of Investor Experience at Civitas Capital Group. She is responsible for legal and compliance matters across the firm’s investment activities and operations, as well as leading investor experience initiatives. Her role includes oversight of fund formation, regulatory matters, transactions, and strategic initiatives that enhance the firm’s engagement with investors.

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Ms. Ekim brings more than 15 years of combined international law firm and in-house experience to Civitas. Prior to joining the firm, she held roles at GGG, Dow Jones & Company, Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), SNR Denton, White & Case, and Shell. Her experience spans the finance, energy, infrastructure, real estate, technology, media, and telecommunications sectors, with a focus on corporate, commercial, and compliance matters, foreign investments, and cross-border transactions.

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Ms. Ekim earned an LL.M. degree summa cum laude in Cross-Cultural Business Practice from the Universities of Fribourg, Bern, and Neuchâtel in Switzerland and a Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Galatasaray University Faculty of Law. She also holds certificates in Finance and in the Venture Capital Executive Program from the University of California, Berkeley, and has successfully completed General Counsel (GC) University at UC Berkeley Law Executive Education.

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Ms. Ekim serves on the Public Policy Committee and the Editorial Committee for Invest in the USA (IIUSA), the leading trade association for the U.S. immigration investment program. She is an active member of The L Suite, the Women’s General Counsel Network (WGCN), HiPower, and How Women Lead. In 2023, she was honored by Corporate Counsel Business Journal as one of its “50 Women to Watch”, which recognizes women who demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities, business acumen, and a commitment to mentorship in their respective communities. She is fluent in French and Turkish.

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Mine In The News

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“Financing the Finish Line: How Cross-Border Investor Capital Can Close Project Funding Gaps and What the New Era of Regulatory Rigor Demands of Counsel,” Mine Ekim, International In-house Counsel Journal, July 2026. Mine examines why project funding gaps have widened, when cross-border capital belongs in the stack, and how heightened securities, AML, and source-of-funds scrutiny has moved in-house counsel from downstream reviewer to architect of fundraising strategy.

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“USCIS EB-5 Updates: Policy Shifts, Adjudication Trends, and Industry Implications,” Mine Ekim, Steven C. Reingold, and Rohit Kapuria, IIUSA Regional Center Business Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 1, April 2026, pp. 45-47. Mine and her co-authors provide a practice-oriented, up-to-date review of EB-5 policy shifts, adjudication trends, administrative challenges, and their practical implications for investors, regional centers, and practitioners.

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“EB-5 Regional Center Audits: A Practical Review and Advocacy Roadmap,” Jessica A. DeNisi and Mine Ekim, IIUSA Regional Center Business Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, November 2025, pp. 33-35. Mine and her co-author review how post-RIA EB-5 regional center audits work in practice, how regional centers should prepare and respond to document requests, and why USCIS should publish a standardized EB-5 audit framework.