Let’s build legal industry into an economic force for relevance- Isabel Boaten
Speaking at the Professional Dialogue Series organized by the Africa Bar Association in Accra, she emphasized the need for lawyers to build their industry to become an economic force
With the wave of the Free Trade Agreement in Africa and specifically with Ghana having the Headquarters of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), there is much to be desired from professionals like lawyers.
However local Law Firms seem to be losing out of competition from their foreign counterparts who are benefitting from their competitive advantage.
It is in light of this that the Managing Partner of the AB and David Africa Law Firm, Ms. Isabel Boaten has tasked Law Firms in Ghana and Africa to be concerned about their competitive advantage or else they fail.
Speaking at the Professional Dialogue Series organized by the Africa Bar Association in Accra, she emphasized the need for lawyers to build their industry to become an economic force to be consulted and become relevant in pertinent national decisions.
Established in 1971 as a professional body uniting individual lawyers and national legal associations in Africa, the African Bar Association (AFBA) was designed to be a federation of national legal associations, corporate and unincorporated legal entities, and individual lawyers.
Technology and the New Africa
Even though the effect of globalization and technology on legal practice is inevitable, to Ms. Boaten, this is rather making the foreign Law Firms take advantage of the African market in addition to there while the local firms look on helpless.
She thus urged Law Firms in Ghana and Africa especially to embrace this trend by also imbibing modernity into their practice to remain relevant.
Client Management
Ms. Boaten noted that today’s clients are well-informed and have diverse experiences and thus called on Law Firms to know more and be abreast with the times to manage them effectively.
She, therefore, outlined some client management techniques that are needed by Law Firms. They include; knowing more about the client, and their cultural nuances, proper negotiation of terms of engagement, execution of the work, effective complaint, and crisis management.
